14 1/2 X 19 Stainless Steel Propeller on 2040-parts.com

Toyota to close Australian design studio

Toyota designers at its Technical Center Asia Pacific Australia (TTCAP-AU) are to lose their jobs as part of Toyota's decision to scale back the facility's activities as well as halting all manufacturing within the country by 2017. The TTCAP-AU, which carries out all its Australian design and evaluation operations, employs 150 designers and modelers and it's possible that its activities with the Camry, Camry Hybrid and Aurion models could be scrapped, raising doubts over its future. Around 2,500 employees at Toyota's Altona manufacturing plant are expected to lose their jobs, although the effects are likely to be wider ranging.

CAR interviews the retiring Bob Lutz (2010)

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 09 March 2010 15:34 General Motors' 78-year-old product chief Bob Lutz (insert 'car tsar', 'car guy', 'Maximum Bob' cliché here) announced his retirement shortly after the 2010 Geneva motor show. CAR Online caught up with Maximum Bob to hear of his thoughts on the new GM, future products and exactly what happened behind the scenes during GM's collapse into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. CAR: GM's been on quite a journey over the past 18 months.

London Taxi maker Manganese Bronze bought by China’s Geely

China automotive giant Geely has bought Manganese Bronze – makers of the iconic London Black Cab – in an £11.04 million deal. The iconic London Black Cab has been an accident waiting to happen for years, as under investment in making the Black Cab fit for the 21st century saw competition – like the Mercedes Vito Taxi and the Nissan NV200 Cab – start to offer serious competition to the taxi that identifies London. Despite an investment by China’s Geely – when Geely bought 20 per cent of Manganese Bronze, makers of the Black Cab – and the bulk of the Black Cab being produced in China and bolted together in the Midlands, the final nail in the coffin for Manganese Bronze was the recall of 400 TX4 cabs over a steering fault.