Dupont Chromabase Mixing Tint 830j on 2040-parts.com

Smart Forvision concept

Smart will unveil its new Forvision concept car at the 2011 Frankfurt motor as the manufacturer continues its preview its future design direction. In the last 12 months the company has revealed its Forspeed and eScooter concepts, with the latest addition designed to keep to the original ForTwo's green specifications. The Forvision uses the latest Smart electric drive system, which Daimler claims will add approximately 20 percent to the range of the current electric Smart, with an EV range of around 110 miles. The vehicle's paintwork and glass can reflect heat – on a hot day it can apparently cool the interior by around 20° C. The concept also has a glass roof, with Daimler is in the process of developing transparent solar charging technology.

GM's historic Willow Run plant closes

After 68 years of arming the nation and putting America on wheels, the Willow Run manufacturing plant in southeast Michigan closed on Thursday. The 5-million-square-foot powertrain plant, owned by Motors Liquidation Corp., the remnants of the former General Motors Corp., has fallen victim to GM's 2009 bankruptcy and subsequent restructuring. About 300 workers left at the plant will either “retire, transfer to another campus or go on layoff,” said Chris Lee, a spokesman for the reorganized General Motors Co.

Project Car Hell, Air-Cooled Inferno Edition: oval-window Beetle or Type 34 Karmann Ghia?

Here we are in the Automotive Lake of Fire again, and we feel compelled to follow up a couple of marginal-classic Fiat projects with a pair of indisputable classic Volkswagens. After Ferdinand Porsche appropriated the basic design for the original Beetle from Tatra designer Hans Ledwinka (but before Tatra successfully sued Volkswagen), Volkswagen turned one innovative rear-engined vehicle platform into quite a lineup of cars and trucks. These days, while some types of air-cooled VW projects are cheap and plentiful, the rarer ones are much-sought-after and tough to find in semi-restorable condition.