1996 Pontiac Firebird Automatic Transmission 1687670 on 2040-parts.com

MINI Speedster back on the cards

Mini Speedster from 2001 - looks set to form the basis of a new MINI Speedster Based on the MINI platform, the Speedster version was talked about as long ago as 2001, but never made it to production on the first MINI platform. But perhaps having now covered just about every variant they can think of, BMW has decided that now is the time to revive the car and get it in to production. Small Roadsters, in the vein of the old British open-topped 2 seater ( and its modern ‘Homage’ version – the MX-5) will, I’m sure, see something of a renaissance in the next few years as people start to turn away from big, profligate cars, but still seek some fun motoring.

Spoken street names useful in navigation units, magazine says

If you're in the market for a portable navigation unit, features such as spoken street names and reality view/lane assist are worth the money while traffic information, connected services and voice recognition are not as essential, says Consumer Reports magazine. Less expensive navigation models are even offering the service via which the unit will speak the names of streets or highway numbers rather than telling drivers to merge or turn in a specific direction. Reality view/lane assist is a feature commonly packaged as one that displays three-dimensional views of exits, signs and intersections as well as the best lane to be in for upcoming driving maneuvers.

College Exhibition: Pforzheim Design Forum 2006

The biennial Design Forum at Pforzheim Hochschule in Germany took place last week, with six international design schools joining together to present and discuss the latest work of their students. The Forum is held in conjunction with the annual summer degree show at Pforzheim where Diploma and Masters students presented their work. The Forum was chaired by Professor James Kelly who welcomed the tutors and their accompanying students to the event.