1961 Buick Lesabre * Hood Fender Door Trim Bumpers Glass Seat Bubbletop Trunk on 2040-parts.com

Ford invents agile, low-cost solution for prototyping, customization and limited production [w/video]

A new metal forming technique pioneered by Ford that drastically reduces the time and cost of producing low-volume and one-off body parts may lead to cost-effective customization, redesigns, one-offs and limited production runs. Ford Freeform Fabrication Technology (F3T) forms sheets of metal by two stylus-like tools, one on each side of the surface. Using CAD data they form the part to the exacting strength and finish tolerances usually associated with stamping dies.

Tyre-related deaths show slight fall

FIGURES released today have revealed a slight fall in the number of deaths and serious injuries caused by dangerous tyres. The 2012 figure of 194 ‘killed of seriously injured’ (KSI) incidents represents a 5% fall from 2011, and includes a drop in fatalities of three, from 28 to 25. Serious injuries fell from 177 to 169.

BMW 2-series Active Tourer makes world debut at the Geneva motor show

Like it or not, BMW's front-wheel future is trundling our way fast: The new 2-series Active Tourer, a front-wheel-drive MPV powered by a range of transverse-mounted three- and four-cylinder motors made its official debut Tuesday at the Geneva motor show. There wasn't much we didn't know about the 2-series Active Tourer ahead of the show -- catch yourself up with our full breakdown -- but seeing it in the steel drove home the point that this thing is happening, and we're powerless to stop it. It won't be all bad, though.