Blog on 2040Parts

Hiriko folding car: The solution to urban car sharing? [w/video]

The Hiriko Driving Mobility Group has moved into the manufacturing trial of its two-seater electric microcar, which it hopes will offer a new car-sharing program that will transform the way we travel around our cities. The ‘first-mile' problem – moving between the commuter's home and mass transit hubs – and the ‘last-mile' problem – from mass transit to the workplace – has increased dramatically over the past few decades as more of us live in urban environments. 10 years ago researchers at the Michigan Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) decided to explore alternatives to shuttle buses and other ideas that failed to tackle the problem.

Toyota Yaris Trend & Yaris Edition launched

Toyota has launched a pair of special editions for summer – the Yaris Trend and Yaris Edition – with cosmetic tweaks. Not content with flogging 100 units of the Toyota Yaris Hybrid to Europcar, Toyota are intent on mopping up more sales with the launch of a couple of special editions – the Toyota Yaris Edition and Toyota Yaris Trend. Both special editions get a blacked-out C-Pillar and privacy glass to give the illusion of a floating roof, a choice of Tyrol Silver or Cirrus White paint and a three or five-door body.

Chris Evans CarFest: It’s all coming together

Chris Evans’ CarFest South & CarFest North are on track to deliver great weekends of petrolhead delight at Laverstoke Park Farm & Cholmondeley Castle. Listeners to Chris Evans’ Radio 2 Breakfast Show discovered Chris’s plans for his very own car festival – to benefit the BBC Children in Need Charity – when Chris was looking for a way to take his mind off bread for Lent, and CarFest was born. The CarFest plan was nothing more than a brief outline for a great weekend – super cars, great food and terrific music – but soon gained a life of its own as word spread of Chris’s plans.

MINI’s Olympic Marketing Masterstroke

BMW has spent £40 million sponsoring the 2012 London Olympics, but it’s a small fleet of remote controlled MINI’s that provide the value. BMW has done all it can to promote its sponsorship of the 2012 London Olympics, and with a spend said to be in the region of £40 million, who can blame them? But it’s not just local shopkeepers and enthusiastic small businesses that are hamstrung by Olympic rules on advertising, the Olympic sponsors are too.

Toyota Yaris Hybrid joins the Europocar fleet

The Toyota Yaris Hybrid – Europe’s answer to the Prius C – joins Europcar Car Hire as the perfect choice for visiting London. Perhaps Europcar should have got the Toyota Yaris Hybrid on to their fleet a little earlier considering the number of visitors in London at the moment? But in future, visitors to London wanting a hire car will be able to opt for the Yaris Hybrid and save themselves London Congestion Charging.

Revolutionizing the BMW M3

BMW is less than a year away from officially revealing the fifth generation of the menacing M3, the first to receive turbocharged six-cylinder power. The performance sedan, code-named F80, is expected to appear as a lightly veiled concept at the 2013 Geneva motor show, debuting the appearance and mechanical package of the M division's eagerly anticipated Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG rival. A showroom-ready version with a production interior arrives at next year's Frankfurt motor show, BMW sources say.

Hyundai sets prices on 2013 Santa Fe Sport

Hyundai has set sticker prices on the five-seat version of its redesigned crossover, the 2013 Santa Fe Sport. A base front-wheel-drive model with the 190-hp, 2.4-liter four-cylinder stickers at $25,275, including the $825 destination charge. The Santa Fe Sport crossover was introduced at the 2012 New York auto show.

Ford touts electric range, speed of plug-in C-Max Energi hybrid

Ford's C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid wagon will be able to hit 85 mph on battery power alone, the automaker said Tuesday. The C-Max Energi can also travel 20 miles on electric power. The driver can put the powertrain into one of three modes, via a button on the center stack: -- EV Now, which runs the vehicle on the lithium-ion battery pack until it is depleted.

Be our 10,000th Facebook fan and win a six-month subscription!

With our Facebook page's 'Like' count continuing to rise, we're rapidly approaching the magic 10,000 mark. To celebrate we're offering a free six-month subscription to Car Design News to our 10,000th fan. We've been updating our page with archived material from auto shows stretching all the way back 2000 and in celebration of the ever-rising number of Facebook ‘Likes' we've decided to give away the fantastic prize of a free six-month subscription to the one who takes us to the five digit mark.

Autonomous emergency braking mandatory in Europe by 2014

Autonomous emergency braking (AEB) is set to become mandatory as a result of new European regulations. From 2014 Euro NCAP – the organization responsible for conducting independent assessment of vehicle safety performance – will amend its reports and no car will gain a five-star rating without AEB. It's hoped an increased use of the system will cut down on front-end impacts as well as pedestrian injuries.

Audi R8 e-tron Nurburgring record run on video

Audi has revealed video of the complete Nurburgring lap by the Audi R8 e-tron in 8:09, a new lap record for an EV. The Nurburgring is not the first place you’d associate with an electric car. After all, it’s fuelled on adrenalin, testosterone and the sound of V8s, V10s and V12s – not batteries and whooshing noises.

Interactive Audi Cam smoothes car repairs

Audi Cam system – now rolled out across Audi’s UK dealer network – smoothes repair flow decisions for customers. Last year Audi introduced Direct Reception technology across its dealer network, allowing customers to see and speak to the mechanics (sorry, technicians) as they work on a car. It’s a good way to pass the time if you have the time in the first place to sit in a dealer’s reception whilst your car is worked on, but it always seemed more a gimmick than anything else; a bit like the ‘Celebrity Chef Kitchen Table’ fad.

Mercedes Vito London Taxi comes out fighting

Mercedes has come out fighting against the Nissan NV200 London Taxi with an assertion of the benefits of the Mercedes Vito Taxi. Yesterday we had the news that Nissan, not content with just undermining the Crown Victoria as the NYC Yellow Cab, have turned their attention  to the London Taxi with their NV200 take on the Black Cab. So far, LTI hasn’t responded to the imminent threat to their business from Nissan (but then they still haven’t really reacted to Mercedes entry in to the market), but Mercedes has, coming out fighting this morning with a press release extolling the virtues of the Vito Taxi.

Ssangyong getting bullish with the Korando SX

The new Ssangyong Korando SX is to feature in a £1 million TV advertising campaign comparing price and spec with its rivals. It’s almost exactly a year since we reported Ssangyong’s return to the UK market with the Ssangyong Korando, a competitive budget compact SUV they hoped would set them on a path to sales success in the UK. Ssangyong ramped up their Korando offering in June by launching the Korando SX 4×4 at a very reasonable £18,795, although you did have to sacrifice kit – and a lump of power – to achieve the new 4×4 entry price.

Nissan NV200 (2012): London's next taxi cab?

The London black cab is being thoroughly rebooted, and it's Nissan who's challenging the dominance of the traditional black taxi. It's brought a new NV200 London Taxi to the capital during the 2012 Olympics in its bid to replace one of the world's most iconic vehicles. Nissan claims the NV200 cab will be cheaper, greener, and more user-friendly than the current fleet of LTI TX4s, and we may yet see a fully electric version join the ranks if trials are successful.

Mini takes to the field for London 2012

Although there’s no motorsport in the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Mini will be making an appearance during the track and field events in the Olympic stadium. A fleet of three remote-controlled, quarter-scale Mini Cooper JCWs are charged with retrieving javelins, discus, shot and hammer, and will cover around 6000 metres per day while on duty. Each ‘mini Mini’ has a potential payload of 8kg, and will be operated by specially-trained ‘Games Makers’.

Spyker slaps GM with $3 billion lawsuit

Spyker, the Dutch supercar firm and owner of Saab, hit General Motors with a $3 billion lawsuit Monday, claiming GM forced Saab into bankruptcy and interfered with a potential deal with Chinese investors that could have saved the company. Spyker is suing on behalf of Saab, assuming legal costs in exchange for a significant proportion of any potential award. Saab went into bankruptcy in December 2011.

Terry Karges to replace Buddy Pepp as executive director of the Petersen Museum

Terry Karges will take over as executive director of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles on Aug. 15, replacing Buddy Pepp, who is retiring after more than two years on the job. Karges brings four decades of automotive, entertainment and motorsports management experience to the Petersen.

VW extends used-car warranties to all brands

The Volkswagen brand, as part of its push for 800,000 U.S. sales by 2018, has a new used-car warranty program to help dealers sell trade-ins from other brands. This October, VW rolls out "WorldAuto," which extends a limited one-year, 12,000-mile warranty to used non-VW makes and models.

Nissan NV200 London taxi unveiled

Nissan has revealed a new London taxi, dubbed the ‘NV200 London Taxi', following the compact van's selection as New York City's Taxi of Tomorrow. It promises to be just as controversial in the UK as it is Stateside. The NV200, which measures in at 1,860mm high, 4,440mm long and 2,100mm wide, seats five passengers with three on a rear bench and two rear facing fold down seats while the removal of the front passenger seat increases luggage space, much in the same way as the traditional London taxi.

Nissan Pathfinder

Nissan has revealed the production version of its latest Pathfinder SUV, first seen in concept form at this year's NAIAS in Detroit. It moves away from the outgoing model in terms of form language, introducing a far more organic and car-like aesthetic. The 2013 model is almost 230kg lighter than its predecessor with a monocoque bodyshell that allowed Nissan designers to create a more aerodynamic exterior without losing headroom or trunk capacity.

Overfinch Range Rover Sport GTS-X gets 575bhp

Overfinch has revealed its most powerful Range Rover yet – the Range Rover Sport GTS-X – with 575bhp and 0-60mph in 5.0 seconds. Now Overfinch is back on track new models are starting to take shape. And the Overfinch Range Rover GTS-X, revealed today after a brief debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed last month, is one of the most appealing Overfinch has ever churned out.

Spyker want $3 billion from GM over Saab Saga

Spyker has filed a law suit against General Motors for $3 billion for refusing to allow Saab to be sold to the Chinese. Victor Muller is not the kind of man who gives up until he’s exhausted every avenue to get what he wants. Which might explain why Spyker has just issued a $3 billion law suit against GM.

Nissan NV200: Nissan’s take on the London Taxi

Nissan is taking on the Black Cab market with the Nissan NV200 London Taxi, expected to go on sale in 2014 from around £30k. It may not be the biggest market in the car world, but the profile of the London Taxi makes it a worthwhile target for car makers. Mercedes recently took on the traditional Black Cab with their Vito-based taxi and did a very good job – but at a price; the Mercedes Vito Cab costs around £42k, almost £10k more than the traditional London Taxi.

UK new car registrations up again in July

New car registrations in the UK have risen for the fifth month running, with a total of 143,884 new cars registered in July 2012. The UK is continuing to buck the European trend with new car registrations up by 9.3 per cent in July (2102) to 143,884 according to new figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). That figure is the largest sales volume of 2012 and is the fifth month in a row that new car registrations have risen, despite economic woes and the Eurozone crisis, and brings registrations in 2012 to 1,201,564 so far, leading the SMMT to increase their prediction for 2012 sales upwards to 1.97 million.

Updated Mercedes G Class UK prices announced

Mercedes-Benz has revealed prices for the updated 2012 Mercedes G Class, which starts at £82,954 and rises to £123,115. The word ‘Icon’ is bandied around for any car that’s survived the test of time (guilty as charged), but few are really iconic. The Mercedes G Class is one of the exceptions.

Aftermarket Car Plug-In Hybrid system developed (video)

The Department of Engineering Technology at the Middle Tennessee State University has developed a plug-in hybrid retro-fit system for cars. As hybrid cars show the world that we can get more miles to the gallon from fuel by adding in an electric motor to the mix (depending on just how that electricity is generated, of course), it was inevitable that aftermarket solutions would eventually surface. Now, the Department of Engineering Technology at the Middle Tennessee State University has popped up with what they claim is an after market plug-in hybrid system that can be added to just about any car and would cost – assuming it gets to market – around £2,000.

Citroen C1 Connexion: It’s the People’s Car

Citroen asked its Facebook Fans exactly what they wanted from a C1. The result is the Citroen C1 Connexion – now on sale. We thought it was only modern politicians who decided policy according to opinion polls.

New Audi RS6 to get 572bhp V8

The 2013 Audi RS6 looks set to swap its V10 for the new Audi V8 with the wick turned up to 572bhp – the same as the old V10. Most of the new A6 range has now arrived in showrooms – including the S6 and Avant – but what’s still missing is a new RS6, the Audi that used to have the heart of a Lamborghini. But as we reported in April, the 2013 RS6 is well on the way but it will be losing its Lamborghini V10 with its 5.2 litres and 572bhp and will instead get the Audi/Bentley twin-turbo 4.0 litre V8.

Land Rover Defender 90 XS by Chelsea Truck

The Land Rover Defender 90 XS by the Chelsea Truck Company (owned by Kahn Design) is a nice titivation of Land Rover’s iconic off-roader. Kahn Design turn their hand to modifying Land Rovers for the residents of Cheshire, Surrey and Essex – the most recent being the Evoque RS250 Vesuvius Copper – but, under the guise of off-shoot Chelsea Truck Company, Kahn has given the Land Rover defender a bit of a makeover too. Under the bonnet is the familiar 2.2 litre diesel with its adequate 120bhp and 265lb/ft of torque that comes in completely bog-standard setup, but cosmetically Kahn has given the Defender 90 XS some of the frills the regular Defender is missing.