1999 Buick Regal Owners Manual on 2040-parts.com

Why carmakers say no to battery swapping

There's a strange disconnect surrounding Better Place, the company best known for its plan to extend the range of electric vehicles by relying on speedy battery swaps. Automotive executives are nearly unanimous in dismissing the idea. With the conspicuous exception of Nissan-Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn, rarely does an executive express interest.

Building the brand identity of Brazil's home-grown off-roader

Ford's South American design studio in Camaçari, Brazil, has already completed two 'One Ford' global projects, the EcoSport crossover, and the Ka compact. But the replacement for the Troller T4, a basic 4x4 solely for the Brazilian market, has presented a different challenge to the design team led by Joao Marcos Ramos. In 1994, Troller began building tough rally-raid 4x4s for local motor sport events.

Nissan 2020 Vision Gran Turismo concept

Nissan is the latest manufacturer to unveil a virtual concept car for Polyphony's Gran Turismo game, appropriately based on its GTR flagship.Designed by the team at Nissan Design Europe in London, the 2020 Vision Gran Turismo takes the broad themes of the GTR and transposes them into a far more extreme expression of its character. The vertical front and circular rear lamps are familiar, while the tapered DLO and bodyside graphic are also recognizable, but its proportions are new – wildly low and wide. Wilder still is its surfacing, with extreme offsets through its body section, layered aero elements and wheel arches that incorporate exhaust outlets behind the front wheels and a Gandini-like hexagonal rear graphic.The rear of the Visions Gran Turismo is dominated by the vast lower venturi to suck it to the (virtual) circuit and an equally dominant wing pressing it down, bracketed by the iconic four round lamps.