Gears Canada 300156-1 Saddlebag on 2040-parts.com

What the Future Holds, Nobody Knows

It's a testament to the talent, charisma and relative celebrity of Ian Callum, Derek Jenkins and Franz von Holzhausen - heads of Jaguar, Mazda and Tesla design, respectively - that they managed to captivate a crowd of industry insiders at the tail end of the Los Angeles Auto Show's second press-preview day. This despite being given a nebulous topic to discuss with a moderator who knew little about the subject. Dan Lyons, a technology columnist at Newsweek, oversaw the panel discussion that was to focus on "Tomorrow's Cars...Practical Transportation or Groundbreaking Design?" He asked only one question on that topic before digressing into a more general discourse on the design strategies of Jaguar, Mazda and Tesla.

A look at future Nissan products

The push for fuel economy leadership will heavily influence the look and performance of Nissan's new products for the next three years. The effort will be focused on three primary areas: cutting vehicle weight, improving aerodynamics and reducing friction in the engine and transmission. Those three priorities already can be seen in the 2013 Altima, which went on sale in June with 20 percent better fuel economy than the outgoing model.

Guzzler program still operating; White House searches for funds

The federal cash-for-guzzlers program continues to operate this morning despite dealer reports that it was to be suspended at midnight last night because it was approaching its $1 billion limit. "It is not suspended," a White House spokeswoman, who asked not to be named, said in an interview today. "We continue to assess the program and its budget." National Automobile Dealers Association spokesman Bailey Wood said Thursday that the group had been told by Transportation Department officials of plans to suspend the program after just six days.