Moog K620110 Control Arm/ball Joint Assy on 2040-parts.com

Nissan says the Leaf electric car will snag Toyota Prius owners

Owners of Toyota Motor Corp.'s fuel-efficient Prius hybrid will succumb to the charms of the Nissan Leaf electric sedan, predicts Nissan Division Vice President Al Castignetti. More than half of the 130,000 hand-raisers who have expressed an interest in the Leaf so far have been Prius owners, he said. "That's a pretty significant signal to us," Castignetti said last week as Nissan North America Inc.

Who's Where: Ken Okuyama parts company with Pininfarina

Pininfarina, the Turin, Italy-based automotive styling house, has announced that its design director, Ken Okuyama, has left the company. In a tersely-worded statement Pininfarina said, "The Company's decision comes as a result of the various external activities Ken Okuyama was carrying out beyond his responsibilities within Pininfarina." Ken Okuyama had been Design Director at Pininfarina since July 2005. During this time, Okuyama's most high-profile work was the Maserati Birdcage prototype, created to celebrate 75th anniversary of the Italian styling house.

November auto sales jump 17 percent as market gains strength

U.S. car and truck sales jumped 17 percent last month, raising hopes the industry will end 2010 on a high note while creating momentum for the new year. Light vehicle sales rose to 873,407 units in November, for the market's 11th advance in the past 12 months.