Ford F150 2009-2013 Powerfold Driver's-side Mirror on 2040-parts.com

Carlos Ghosn's automaker mantra: Go big or you'll go away

Size matters in auto company survival, Renault and Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn told an audience in Detroit on Tuesday. To cope with the escalating costs and scope of a global industry, successful automakers must complete a trifecta--be able to compete in every technology, every market and every segment, Ghosn said during a luncheon speech at the Detroit Economic Club “No 3 million-unit carmaker can make it,” Ghosn said, explaining why his Renault-Nissan alliance forged an alliance with Germany's Daimler AG. Competency in one or two of the three skills is not enough, and only very large companies can afford all three, he said.

Next-generation Porsche 911 spied frolicking in the snow

The next-generation Porsche 911 is proving to be an alluring target for spy shooters, who have caught coupe and cabriolet versions undergoing snow testing in the dead of night. Chatter is that this new 911, known internally as the 998, will roll out in late 2011 as a 2012 model--which could set it up for a debut at the 2011 Frankfurt motor show. The all-black prototypes look similar to what we

Bentley Hybrid setup works across Bentley’s range of engines

You’ll be able to have a hybrid powertrain across Bentley’s range of engines With car makers increasingly hidebound by ever more stringent economy targets, even makers of the world’s most expensive, luxury cars are having to play ball. Which explains why Bentley has decided to go the hybrid route for their cars, with the debut of the Bentley Hybrid, a Mulsanne with the 6¾ litre V8 under the bonnet aided by an electric motor and a bank of batteries, at the Beijing Motor Show. It seems the Bentley hybrid solution – which is claimed to increase power by 25 per cent and improve emissions and economy by 70 per cent – is very similar to that used across the VW Group range, with an electric motor between the engine and transmission fed by a bank of batteries.