Toyota Allex 2001 Speedometer [7861400] on 2040-parts.com

VW will build small run of XL1 plug-in hybrid

Volkswagen will begin production of its XL1 plug-in hybrid in two years. "We want to go into series production with this car starting in 2013," VW chairman Ferdinand Piech told Automotive News Europe on Tuesday at an event in Doha, Qatar, ahead of the 2011 Qatar auto show where VW unveiled an XL1 prototype. (a href="http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130221/GENEVA/130229972">Read the latest update here announcing the XL1 hybrid's Geneva Auto Show debut).

Volkswagen's No. 1 ambition: How it plans to rule the world

When Ferdinand Piech celebrates his 74th birthday on April 17 in his villa in Salzburg, Austria, with his wife, Ursula, his youngest son, Gregor, and other close family members, he likely will look back at his career and break into a big, satisfied smile. The chairman of Volkswagen AG's supervisory board wants to turn Volkswagen Group into the world's largest automaker. And he loves it when a plan comes together.

Pininfarina Air Flow helmet unveiled

This is Pinifarina's Air Flow, a special helmet created by the famed Italian design house for luxury lid manufacturer Newmax, and the star attraction on its stand at the Milan International Motorcycle Exhibition. Pininfarina is the same company that has penned the Ferrari 458 Italia and Maserati Granturismo. But while Pininfarina itself remains an automotive design company, its Extra Pininfarina arm has branched out into other projects, recently designing Coca-Cola drinks machines and the interior of Juventus's new stadium.