New Mercruiser Quicksilver Front Engine Support 32778 on 2040-parts.com

Toyota's global design chief Tokuo Fukuichi appointed president of Lexus

Toyota's global design chief Tokuo Fukuichi will be the first designer to sit on the company's board of directors when his appointment comes into effect on 1 April. Fukuichi will retain his position as global head of design for the Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands and will join the board after the general shareholders' meeting. His influence on Toyota's design direction over the last few years has been noticeable, particularly with Lexus, as the company strives to make its traditionally very conservative products a little more exciting.

GM's green future: EVs, plug-in hybrids

General Motors' future green-car efforts will focus on plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles rather than conventional hybrid powertrains, product chief Mary Barra said Wednesday. Barra said GM has narrowed its future development emphasis in an effort to defend its leadership position attained with the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid. GM will unveil an electric Spark minicar in late November at the Los Angeles auto show.

Porsche Panamera diesel owners can boost the fun with TechArt power upgrade

The German Porsche tuning haus TechArt revealed a power-upgrade kit for the Porsche Panamera diesel. While the 30-hp bump from the stock 250 horses to 280 won't light the world on fire, the 37-lb-ft jump in torque, from 405 lb-ft to 442 lb-ft, is sure to be a kick in the pants. The 0-to-60-mph time drops by 0.1 second from stock to 6.6 seconds, but the top end is up 3 mph to 153 mph.