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Car Designers Blackmailed

A London court has found former design student Guy Lloyd-Parker guilty of blackmailing US car designers. The London College of Fashion graduate had claimed that 95 car design sketches were stolen from him by two college lecturers in 1994, eventually resurfacing as final designs in the form of the Audi TT, BMW Z3, Mazda RX-8 and the Volvo XC90. Lloyd-Parker, having failed to successfully sue the college, began sending menacing letters to California-based Volvo Design Director Geza Loczi, former BMW and Aston Martin designer Henrik Fisker, and ex-Mazda designer Tsutomu Matano demanding £90,000.

Global car launches at Pebble Beach 2013

Not content with playing host to hundreds of the world’s rarest classic cars, the 2013 Pebble Beach motoring week in Monterey, California, also saw the first global public outings of several new cars and concepts. Here’s our pick of these high-profile unveilings with cars from established mega brands like BMW, Aston Martin and Cadillac as well as exotic specialists like fiercely independent Dutch brand Spyker and Moroccan supercar marque Laraki.

Ford engine plant builds number 10 million

Ford's 90-degree, overhead-cam Modular V8 has covered a wide spectrum since it was introduced in 1991--powering luxury cars, SUVs, pickups and high-performance sports cars. A large number of those engines have come from a Ford plant in Romeo, Mich., which has now built its 10-millionth engine--a 4.6-liter V8 that is headed for a 2010 Mustang GT. The Romeo engine plant was converted from a tractor factory.