Audi Urban Concept cars (2011): the first photos

Audi Urban concept Spyder concept car (2011) news Audi Urban concept (2011) CAR review Audi has only teased us so far with sketches of its new city car duo, the Urban Concept and its open-top sister, the Urban Spider Concept. Now it's lifted the lid and issued these first photos of its 2011 Frankfurt motor show debutants. They're tiny electric runabouts, with two seats and an electric powertrain.

Volkswagen Microbus production could resume in Brazil

The Volkswagen Type 2 Kombi/Microbus may be a classic to our eyes, but it has been in continuous production in Brazil for almost 50 years. Impending legislation that would outlaw the production and importation of cars and trucks without modern safety features such as ABS brakes and airbags was set to put an end to the Kombi production in Brazil, but one lawmaker wants to make an exception for the veteran vehicle, Indian Autos Blog reports. Brazil's finance minister Guido Mantega is arguing that since the Kombi/Microbus has been in production for decades -- before ABS technology and airbags were developed -- it would be unfair to apply the new law to the vehicle.

1961 Ford Gyron concept scale model sells for $40,000

A scale model of the 1961 Ford Gyron concept has sold at auction for $40,000, around four times its estimate. The space-age concept car – designed by Alex Tremulis, McKinley Thompson, Syd Mead, Bill Dayton, John Najjar, and Elwood Engel – debuted in 1961 at the New York International Auto Show and featured two wheels mounted along the car's centerline, usung a gyroscope for stability. The full-size model – which relied on stabilizing wheels instead of a gyroscope – also predicted the development of satellite navigation systems, car phones and infrared sensing.