1970 Chevrolet Nova Window Crank Handle on 2040-parts.com

Geneva 2011 - Best in Show

Unlike Detroit, which generated a lot of hype for what turned out to be not as much new product as we'd hoped, the Geneva show was a true return to form, with all new vehicles occupying various different market segments making their debuts. But Geneva wouldn't be complete without the seemingly never-ending stream of concept cars filling the halls of the Palexpo. Every year the Swiss show's neutrality is the perfect breeding ground for the French, Italian and German automakers to strut their future visions for mobility about.

Detroit Electric SP:01 – it’s a Lotus Exige EV

Detroit Electric has revealed the SP:01, a Lotus Exige based electric sports car promising 0-62mph in 3.7 seconds and a range of 190 miles. 999 are being built. Detroit Electric is a re-birth of a once well-known electric vehicle maker in the US (that’s well-known pre-WWII) that’s been revived by former Group head of Lotus Engineering, Albert Lam, set up shop in Michigan with the intention of emulating Tesla’s route to EV credibility by building its own Lotus EV.

Cars, Culture and the City

When you think of American cities associated with the car it is Los Angeles of course that leaps first to mind, thanks mostly to Hollywood, and Detroit second. But New York turns out to have been vital in the history of car design, as I found researching an exhibition Cars, Culture and the City at the Museum of the City of New York as guest curator over the last few months, working with the museums curator architecture and design, Donald Albrecht. The show has just opened, on March 25.