07 Harley Davidson Road King Triple Light Bar With Lights on 2040-parts.com

Alfa Romeo 8C Spider at Geneva

By Mark Walton Motor Shows 07 March 2008 17:11 What’s new on the Alfa Romeo Geneva Motor Show stand?Alfa’s youthful new CEO Luca De Meo swept into Geneva like the heir-apparent he no doubt is, to unveil the Alfa Romeo 8C Spider. Even though this is now a well-known car that’s been previewed a dozen times at events around the world (including the 2006 Goodwood Festival of Speed and 2005 Pebble Beach) it still drew a big crowd for the official launch; and when the silky red cover was drawn off, there were still an audible gasp from audience, despite the familiarity. Shown in white with dark grey alloys and a deep tan interior, the Spider is an achingly beautiful car – a stunning, proper, drop-dead drop-top, arguably even more sensuous and dramatic than the 8C Competizione coupe that preceded it.

Sam Foose-built Alfa Romeo Carabo clone for sale

If Helen of Troy's face launched a thousand ships, Marcello Gandini's Alfa Romeo Carabo concept from 1968 most certainly launched two decades' worth of wedgy, mid-engine machines, a number of them penned by Gandini himself during his tenure at Bertone. This car, however, is not that car. This one was built in California, by legendary car builder (and father of Chip) Sam Foose back in 1972.

How safe are new minicars?

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) recently tested a total of 11 minicars in its relatively new small-overlap crash test, and the Chevrolet Spark was the only one to earn an Acceptable rating. The small-overlap crash test was instituted in 2012 with the goal of better replicating real-life car crashes, most of which don't follow the pattern of traditional government crash tests. Instead of a car hitting a stationary object with 100 percent of its front making contact, the small-overlap test examines how a car behaves in a frontal impact at 40 mph where only a quarter of the car's front hits an object.