Porsche 914 Glove Compartment Door 1970 on 2040-parts.com

Orange alert for Seat's fastest car ever

IF YOU’D like your brand new Seat Leon Cupra 280 a little more orange than the basic colour palette allows, check out this new development from Seat UK. The firm’s British arm has responded immediately to complaints that the fastest Leon ever simply didn’t look crazy enough, thanks largely to its muted choice of colours. Seat UK has reacted with a shockingly orange bodyshell wrap, covering the original finish and protecting it from damage, as well as giving the Leon Cupra’s stunning lines a bit more to shout about.

Mazda 3, Mazda 6 get customized for the SEMA Show

We like the look of Mazda's current lineup, from the basic 2 to the sleek 6. Kodo design language has a lot to do with it -- Mazda North American Operations design director Derek Jenkins says that, thanks that Kodo styling, "the Zoom-Zoom genetic code is further being embraced, not buried, through increasingly expressive vehicle design." (Ugh.-ED) We didn't know genetics had anything to do with it, but hey -- tough to argue with the results. Perhaps Kodo's effectiveness is why Mazda's SEMA show concepts are fairly...restrained compared to what other automakers are bringing to Las Vegas.

One Lap of the Web: Mock the Week Edition

-- Mazda Europe designer Peter Birthwhistle talks about the future of Mazda: potential hybrid and electric powertrains for the Skyactiv-obsessed company, and how we'll all be driving Mazda-branded pods in the 22nd century. But he also mentions, rather interestingly, how certain Mazdas capture a quintessentially long-hood, RWD look -- and not just the Miata, either, which is RWD. No, it's the exhaust systems on those Skyactiv engines that force a longer, larger hood compartment, and the "long, flowing looks" not usually found on FWD engines.