Suzuki 1988 230cc Quadsport on 2040-parts.com

Exclusive: Honda to Close European Design Studios

In a surprise announcement, Honda has decided to close design operations in Europe, based in Germany. The decision to shut down both the car design and motorcycle design studios of Honda R&D Europe (HRE-G) in Offenbach, near Frankfurt was taken at the end of September and came as a shock announcement to employees. It represents the latest casualty in cuts for the car design community.

Exclusive: Laurens van den Acker to replace Patrick le Quément at Renault

The wheels of change are continuing to turn within the automotive design industry, with yet another new appointment being made at the director level. According to industry insiders, Laurens van den Acker is set become the new Design Director at Renault when Patrick le Quément retires later this year. One of the most pre-eminent car designers in the world, Patrick le Quément began his design career at Simca, worked at Ford for 17 years and did a brief stint at Volkswagen before taking the top design job at Renault.

Cross-country in a Corvette Stingray: Conclusion

The final leg of our cross-country Corvette trip took us from Detroit to Charlevoix, Mich. -- about 45 minutes north of our birthplace, Traverse City. Aside from the drivers on I-75 in metro Detroit -- who may be the worst in the world -- and the still-intermittent audio system, the ride was pretty uneventful.