Yamaha 750 Tx750 Intake Manifold 73 on 2040-parts.com

Mercedes-Benz to cut production time, halve number of vehicle architectures

Mercedes-Benz is restructuring its global production network to cut the average production time for its models to 30 hours by 2015 from 43 in 2008. "We have increased productivity by 2 percent a year over the last few years. We will be accelerating our productivity efforts," Mercedes production boss Wolfgang Bernhard said during an investor conference that was part of the automaker's plant opening in Kecskemet, Hungary, on Thursday.

One Lap of the Web: Peking to Paris Rally, classic car inspection guide and pointless cars

We spend a lot of time on the Internet -- pretty much whenever we're not driving, writing about or working on cars. Since there's more out there than we'd ever be able to cover, here's our daily digest of car stuff on the Web you may not otherwise have heard about. -- Join the Hooniverse debate as they ask: What's the dumbest car sold on the market today?

One lap of the Web: A drive with Magnus and drifting an Jag XJ220

Unkempt Porsche trend-maker Magnus Walker's brand of customized 911 has the world buzzing. If the magazine covers and documentaries aren't enough, consider that one of his builds just sold for $302,000 at Gooding's Monterey Sale -- against a high estimate of $150,000. Pretty steep for a customized 911.