Harley Davidson Ultra Touring Tour Pak on 2040-parts.com

Toyota to close Australian design studio

Toyota designers at its Technical Center Asia Pacific Australia (TTCAP-AU) are to lose their jobs as part of Toyota's decision to scale back the facility's activities as well as halting all manufacturing within the country by 2017. The TTCAP-AU, which carries out all its Australian design and evaluation operations, employs 150 designers and modelers and it's possible that its activities with the Camry, Camry Hybrid and Aurion models could be scrapped, raising doubts over its future. Around 2,500 employees at Toyota's Altona manufacturing plant are expected to lose their jobs, although the effects are likely to be wider ranging.

Audi to buy Ducati 'next week' - Reuters

Audi looks set to complete its purchase of superbike maker Ducati as early as next week, according to Reuters. The news wire reports the deal could be finalised by 18 April 2012, the day before VW's annual shareholders meeting in Hamburg. Audi has been undertaking due diligence on the purchase of Ducati and the bean counters are reporting no obstacles to the deal.     Why is Audi interested in buying Ducati?

Infiniti planning new global flagship model

Infiniti is planning a flagship, sporty four-door coupe in the mold of the Porsche Panamera as the joint flagship of its expanding range. The sweeping-looking four-door will take its styling inspiration from the Infiniti Essence concept penned by design chief Shiro Nakamura and first shown at the Geneva motor show in 2009. The new car is part of Infiniti's ambitious plan to become a serious global luxury brand by carving out 10 percent of that market, equivalent to about 500K sales by 2020 and backed up by a significantly expanded model range and huge investment from parent Nissan.