Blog on 2040Parts

Teen Driving: Gen Y delays earning licenses

From the environmentalists to the socially connected, trends indicate teens aren't in as much of a rush to earn a driver's license. In fact, almost half of 18- to 24-year-olds surveyed said they would pick Web access over their own car if they had to choose. Experts say social media sites in particular play a role by connecting teens without requiring them to leave their house.

Suzuki to unveil 'S-Cross' in Paris

Suzuki has revealed a teaser image of its new S-Cross concept car which the automaker will be debuting at next week's Paris motor show. The S-Cross, which indicates an impending C-segment crossover model, is designed to represent a theme of "Emotion x Quality x Aerodynamics" through the use of distinctive dynamic lines that flow from the front fender across the doors and end at the rear of the body. Suzuki have left us with very little else to go on, and so we'll have to wait until next week's show to find out more.

Lexus LF-CC

Lexus is set to debut the LF-CC mid-size coupe concept at next week's Paris motor show that will give us a glimpse of the design and technology ideas that will influence the brand's future models. The LF-CC shares a lot of the same design cues featured on the LF-LC 2+2 sports coupe concept seen in Detroit in January, not least the new spindle-shaped grille that are found on all new Lexus models. It is set in a deep, metal-finish surround and is framed by the hood lip, deep lower spoiler and the projecting front wing tips – this is designed to give it a 3D look.

Lilana Nicoghosian brings fashion and product inspiration to CGT Automotive

CGT supplies cutting-edge synthetics to most major OEMs in the auto industry. In her role as design manager, CGT global automotive division, former Ford color and trim designer Lilana Nicoghosian brings a wealth of experience and insight to the company's drive to provide customers with modern, tactile materials inspired by the worlds of fashion and product design. This mood board was created by Nicoghosian as part of a bi-annual design show that she presents to major OEM design studios around the world.

New Dacia Logan II Paris debut

Renault’s cut price brand, Dacia, is continuing to move forward with the second generation Logan due to debut at Paris. Could come to the UK. Renault-owned Romanian budget brand Dacia’s assault on the European car market shows no sign of letting up as the company readies its replacement for the top-selling Logan small-saloon car.

Mercedes Electric Drive B-Class at Paris 2012

Mercedes has revealed an electric version of the new B-Class – the B-Class Electric Drive Concept – which will debut at Paris 2012. Mercedes has revealed the electric B-Class in the guise of the B-Class Electric Drive Concept – a name Mercedes say will find its way on to the boot of all electric Mercedes, Smart and Tesla cars – which previews a production version by 2014. Powering the B-Class Electric Drive is the Smart electric Drive powerplant, located in the space normally taken up by the ICE, which offers 134bhp and a healthy 228lb/ft of torque with the batteries to power the electric motor housed in what Mercedes are calling the B-Class’s Energy space ahead of the rear axle.

BMW 1-Series gets 4WD xDrive

BMW has announced that the 1-Series will be offered with xDrive 4WD on the 120d and M135i. But the UK won’t get the M135i xDrive. The last few winters in the UK, with heavy snow falls and lots of slip-sliding, has focused drivers’ minds on the benefits of 4WD, so the announcement by BMW that they’re going to offer xDrive on the 1-Series will be welcome news.

2014 Land Rover Dicovery 5 to lose more weight than 2013 Range Rover

It appears the next generation Land Rover Discovery is set to shed even more weight that the latest 2013 Range Rover. We know that Land Rover are on a quest to reduce the weight of their offerings, and the all aluminium 2013 Range Rover is the first real evidence with weight drops of up to 420kg for the new 3.0 litre diesel. But it looks like the next generation Land Rover Discovery – which is due in 2014 and will be the Discovery 5 – is going to eclipse even the huge weight loss of the new Range Rover.

Chris Evans buys Dunlop Bridge from Donington

Radio 2 DJ and Ferrari nut Chris Evans has bought the Dunlop Bridge from Donington Park in a charity auction. When Chris Evans goes to an auction, he usually comes back with a trophy car from Maranello, such as the James Coburn Ferrari 250 GT SWB (or the Ferrari 250 GTO he bought privately through RM Auctions). This time, the Ginger one has been busy buying the sort of motoring ephemera that only a man with a big back garden could afford to find a home for – the iconic Dunlop Bridge from Donington Park.

Lexus LF-CC Concept previews new Lexus IS

The Lexus LF-CC Concept – heading for a debut at Paris 2012 – is a bold concept previewing the new Lexus IS. Lexus is certainly getting its style Mojo together with new models that offer more dramatic styling, and seem to offer more for the driver too. Like the Lexus LF-CC Concept.

2013 Citroen C3 Picasso Facelift at Paris 2012

Citroen has given the C3 Picasso a mild makeover for its home show in Paris this month. Goes on sale early 2013. The Paris Motor Show is a big deal for all car makers, but more so for the French motor industry.

Lexus LF-CC concept car (2012) first official pictures

It’s taken some time, but Lexus lovers will be delighted to learn of the new slender LF-CC concept unveiled at the Paris motor show this week, which looks set to replace the current IS range. The LF-CC concept sports a sleek coupe-style body, suggesting its latest family saloon could be a real head-turner. For the first time ever, the IS will be available with the all-new 2.5-litre full hybrid engine, which is soon to be fully incorporated into the Lexus model range.

New Ferrari Enzo (F70) will NOT debut at Paris 2012

It seems that, despite expectations, Ferrari will not debut the new Enzo (F70) at the 2012 Paris Motor Show. The expectation has been for some time that the new Ferrari Enzo (F70) would debut at this year’s 2012 Paris Motor Show. But now we don’t think it is.

2013 Honda CR-Z Facelift

The Honda CR-Z – Honda’s ‘Sporty’ hybrid – is getting a bit of a facelift for 2013 and will debut at the 2012 Paris Motor Show. It’s more than two years since the Honda CR-Z Hybrid arrived in the UK as the ‘sporty’ face of the Honda Insight, so Honda has decided it’s time for a bit of a facelift. But actually, the styling tweaks play second fiddle to the changes Honda are making under the bonnet, where they’ve upped the output of the 1.5 litre i-VTEC engine and electric motor from a combined 122bhp in the current model to…more.

2012 Windsor Castle Concours of Elegance – courtesy of Bentley

Bentley was an integral part of the 2012 Concours of Elegance at Windsor Castle and have chronicled the event in pictures. Last weekend saw the Windsor Castle Concours of Elegance event in the Queen’s weekend back garden with cars from every year of Her Majesty’s reign gathered to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee. Not surprisingly, a historic brand like Bentley was well represented, and Bentley made the effort to chronicle the event in pictures and have been kind enough to share them.

Ferrari World Record at Silverstone Racing Days

Ferrari F1 driver Felipe Massa led a parade of 964 Ferraris to claim a new world record at Ferrari’s 2012 Racing Days at Silverstone. Ferrari Racing Days have been back at Silverstone this weekend, for the first time in 5 years, and to celebrate the occasion Ferrari has managed to claim a new world record for the number of Ferraris on track at any one time. When the last Ferrari Racing Days outing was at Silverstone, in 2007, Ferrari managed to garner 385 of Maranello’s finest to parade round Silverstone’s track for a new world record, but that record was broken later that year by Ferrari in Japan with 485 cars.

New MINI Paceman highlighted on video

With the production version of the MINI Paceman now revealed, MINI has produced a couple of videos to show off its new Coupe. The new MINI Paceman, the Coupe version of the MINI Countryman and MINI’s answer to the Range Rover Evoque, was revealed earlier this week before heading off to thye 2012 Paris Motor Show. And although MINI did manage to produce a whole heap of photos of the new Paceman, there’s nothing quite like a video or two to get proper perspective.

Koenigsegg Agera R BLT

Christian von Koenigsegg and his team have created a custom Agera R for a Chinese client – the Koenigsegg Agera R BLT. When your pockets are deep enough to buy a Koenigsegg, they’re usually deep enough to have it customised to your own specification. That’s how the mighty Agera R came about, and now a Chinese client of Koenigsegg has had his new Agera R turned in to a special edition with lots of goodies and a new name – the Koenigsegg Agera R BLT.

Nissan Qashqai steering wheel falls off: Recall

Nissan are recalling a number of Qashqai, Qashqai+2 and NV200 vans in the UK after the steering wheel fell of a Qashqai in Finland. As problems with cars go, having the steering wheel fall off in your hands is not one you need to be a mechanic to diagnose. That’s exactly what happened to a Nissan Qashqai driver in  Finland who found his steering wheel had parted company with the steering column when he was parking his car.

Smart forstars concept

The Smart forstars concept is set to be unveiled the week after next at the Paris motor show. Clearly related to the For-Us concept seen at NAIAS in Detroit earlier this year, the grammatically-challenged Sports Utility Coupé concept, measures in at 3,550mm long, 1,710mm wide and 1,505mm high. It shares the same ‘smiley' front face as the For-Us, complete with rhombic front lamps which stand proud of the surface and a pixellated grille opening.

Who's Where: Martin Uhlarik appointed SAIC UK Design Director

SAIC Motor has announced the appointment of Martin Uhlarik as its new UK Design Director amidst plans to significantly expand its European Design Center at Longbridge, UK. Canadian-born Uhlarik has been appointed by Tony Williams-Kenny, who takes over as Global Design Director at SAIC's Shanghai design base. Uhlarik comes in with experience as Senior Interior Designer for Skoda's Prague studio, Project Design Leader for Nissan Design Europe in London.

McLaren's latest P12 teaser video

McLaren has followed up its announcement that its Paris-bound P12 hypercar, teased with an image last week, by releasing a video that suggests the shape and aerodynamics we can expect from the car. The video shows a series of lights passing over an invisible object – the P12 – and using the lightshow it is possible to imagine the general shape of the car, without any detail of course. If the P12's unveiling is anything like the light show in the video, it should be a fantastic experience in Paris.

Hyundai i30 three-door Paris 2012 Debut

Hyundai has revealed the three door version of the new i30 ahead of a debut at the 2012 Paris Motor Show. The new Hyundai i30 range continues to grow with the i30 3-door joining the 5-door hatch and i30 Tourer, and bringing with it a more stylish look. The 3-door i30 – we want to call it the i30 Coupe – gets a sharply-raked beltline and a more angular glasshouse with longer front doors, and looks a lot more sleek than its five-door sibling.

Are BMW really trying to buy De Tomaso?

Reports from Italy say that BMW is in talks to buy De Tomaso, the perpetually failed maker of supercars. It’s long been rumoured that BMW has an interest in acquiring De Tomaso to give it a proper supercar brand to rival the offerings from the VW group. But, despite many opportunities to do so, BMW has never made the move.

James Bond car chases – 50 years in 2 compilation videos

With the James Bond film franchise celebrating 50 years, we have two videos of Bond car chases to enjoy. For those of us who grew up with Sean Connery and Aston Martin as the Bond ingredients that matter, nothing is better than James Bond in an Aston Martin DB5. But there have been many other Bonds in the 50 year history of the Bond franchise – from Sean Connery to Daniel Craig by way of Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, George Lazenby and Pierce Brosnan – and even more cars, from BMW to Lotus by way of Toyota and Sunbeam.

Audi SQ5 Exclusive – for when an SQ5 just isn’t enough

Audi are debuting a limited edition of their new SQ5 – the SQ5 Exclusive – at Paris 2012 before a limited production run of 50 cars. The new Audi SQ5 – a diesel RS Q5 in all but name – bowed in at Le Mans in June featuring the 3.0 litre twin turbo diesel V6 with 479lb/ft of torque, 309bhp and a very un-SUV 0-62mph of 5.1 seconds. As the range-topping Q5 you would think that would be enough for Audi, but it seems they think there’s a market for an even more exclusive Audi SQ5 so they’re producing a limited edition model that’ll cost an extra £30k – the Audi SQ5 Exclusive.

Smart ForStars Concept revealed

The Smart ForStars EV Concept has been revealed ahead of a Paris 2012 debut, previewing the next generation Smart ForTwo. Why the Smart ForStars Concept, you may ask? Well, as this is a concept Smart can be a bit daft, so the ForStars gets a panoramic roof – so you can see the stars – and a video projector in the bonnet scoop so you can watch the (movie) stars.

MINI Paceman: Official

The production version of the MINI Paceman – the Countryman Coupe – has been revealed ahead of the Paris Motor Show. The MINI Paceman arrived at the Detroit Motor Show in 2011 as a concept, but it was clear, even then, that MINI wouldn’t be able to resist building the Countryman Coupe as a cheaper alternative to the Range Rover Evoque. So now we have the production version of the Paceman revealed ahead of its public debut at Paris 2012, looking exactly like the Paceman Concept.

BMW Concept Active Tourer – It’s the BMW B Class

The BMW Concept Active Tourer has been revealed ahead of the Paris Motor Show, previewing BMW’s new FWD direction. We recently had Mercedes roll out their take on the BMW 1 Series with the new A Class, and now the roles are reversed with BMW revealing their take on the Mercedes B Class with the BMW Concept Active Tourer. The BMW Concept Active Tourer is a preview of BMW’s front wheel drive future in the small premium sector, even if the Concept Active Tourer is notionally 4WD thanks to its a 67bhp electric motor driving the back axle in this hybrid setup.

Smart Forstars concept (2012) first offical pictures

It's about time Smart gave us another wacky concept, and this cheeky-looking Paris show-goer should do just the trick. It's an electrically-powered two-seater coupe that'll do 80mph thanks to a Brabus-sourced 81bhp battery-powered drivetrain. The 2012 Smart Forstars concept Smart are touting the Forstars as a sports coupe concept, and it does bear a certain resemblance to the now-defunct Smart coupe, thanks to its prominent two-tone bodywork and wheel-at-each-corner stance.