Michelin Primacy Mxm4 215/45r17 Tire on 2040-parts.com

Mazda may revive the rotary as a hybrid car powerplant

Mazda Motor Corp. has given a new lease on life to its rotary engine in the form of a Mazda 2 hatchback reconfigured as an extended-range hybrid. The prototype runs as an electric vehicle, with an electric motor powering the wheels.

Whos Where: Pierre Castinel is Head of Design at Tata

Indian automaker Tata has been front page news often in recent times, first because of the impressive one-lakh Nano, which changes the automotive industry playing field, and most recently because of its acquisition of Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford's Premiere Automotive Group for the tidy sum of $2.3 billion - less than half what Ford paid for both companies in 1989.  At the helm of Tata's design efforts is Pierre Castinel, Head of Design. Though only officially announced in March this year, Castinel has been active at Tata since he left Renault in summer 2007, a company he worked at for 20 years. Castinel started as a modeler for Peugeot and worked there for three years.

Is Ferrari for sale?

Reports out of Europe have Fiat considering selling a big chunk of Ferrari S.p.A. to raise cash so it can increase its stake in Chrysler Group to 51 percent. The Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera said it has gathered information at Fiat’s Turin headquarters and reported Fiat wants to raise cash to fund buying 51 percent of Chrysler, up from the 20 percent it owns now.