Omc Cobra Outdrive on 2040-parts.com

Kia Carens MPV (2012) first official pictures

Kia has taken its compact family wagon, the Carens back to the drawing board with the release of the all-new 2012 model, bringing it up-to-date with Kia’s current design direction.   The Carens is the last model in Kia’s line up to receive the ‘tiger nose’ facelift under the direction of chief designer Peter Schreyer, best known for designing the Mk 1 Audi TT.   The revised Carens takes on a sharper, more ‘athletic’ shape than the former chunkier model, offering a more practical, cab-forward take on the sportier looking new Ceed on which it is based.

Driven: BMW i8

When BMW unveiled the Vision EfficientDynamics concept at the 2009 Frankfurt motor show, we wrote: "for our money, it's the first time a major carmaker has really attempted to communicate ‘green' technology in an aesthetic sense." Fast-forward five years and we've swapped the show halls of the IAA for a beauty spot on the north-west coast of Scotland. And, while the car's name has changed to i8, our sentiment towards this genre- and era-defining car remains. Admittedly the production car's design execution hasn't received the universal praise of its concept forebears, but, on a remote outpost of the British Isles, a Protonic Blue i8 couldn't look more exotic.

New-car smell less toxic but not safe, Ecology Center says

The Ecology Center released its fourth consumer guide to toxic chemicals last week, and the news is better. The amount of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in new cars has decreased, but we still have a ways to go. VOCs in plastics and flame retardants have been linked to a variety of acute and long-term health concerns.