Engine Intake Manifold-performer 383 Edelbrock 2186 on 2040-parts.com

Umea Olme Spyder project

While Swedish automaker Saab was going through tumultuous times and Geely was in the process of buying Volvo from Ford, first year MA students in Transportation Design at Sweden's Umea Institute of Design were busy creating a one-off roadster for an independent car maker: the Olme Spyder. Created in collaboration with Ove Bengtsson, an engineer with a personal passion for building his own vehicles, the students were asked to design their own interpretation of a progressive and innovative roadster, developing the concept from a sketch into a full-scale model. Based on an Opel Agila donor car, the concept's 650kg steel monocoque chassis was created by Bengtsson himself to accommodate a mid-mounted engine.

Vauxhall Zafira (2008): first official pictures

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 15 February 2008 15:14 Vauxhall is about to give its Zafira MPV – Britain’s best-selling people carrier – a spruce-up. The facelifted model arrives in time for the new March 2008 ‘08’ number plate, but buyers will be hard pressed to notice the changes: new chrome detailing on the grille, different foglight surrounds, and redesigned lights front and rear give the game away. Other changes include curtain airbags made standard on all models and… actually, there’s not much else new.

EBay exotic: 1974 Alfa Romeo Berlina 2000

I'm a sucker for a four-door Alfa, and this bright red Berlina 2000 posted by our friends at Bring a Trailer has yours truly all aflutter this morning. Formerly owned by an Alfa Romeo employee in the United States, this car shows just a tick less than 89,000 original miles and wears fresh paint as of a few years ago. The seller, himself an Alfisti, claims that the gauges and mechanicals are all in correct working order, and the original factory air conditioning apparently operates as well as it did when new--which likely isn't very well, but still, it makes an interesting conversation piece.