Honda Vtx1300 Vtx1800 Sport Custom Rear Carrier Luggage Rack on 2040-parts.com

Hot seats: from design to delivery [sponsored]

As the user demands on car interiors are increasingly influenced by their growing design consciousness, so suppliers like Lear strive to bring better-engineered seating to satisfy. 2013 was another big year for Lear, as Jeanette Puig-Pey, its global fabric & leather design manager, enthuses: "At our ‘Design2Perform' event we celebrated the unveiling of our brand new collection, with special emphasis on color and texture and our TeXstyle Enhance product, perfect for customization. Laser etching is part of this offering, it is exclusive to Lear Corporation and can be used to add refined design elements to cloth and leather." A mix of fabric and leather in seating is not new but is often seen by the consumer as a cheaper alternative to full leather.

Subaru WRX (2014) first official pictures

By Ollie Kew First Official Pictures 21 November 2013 10:30 This is the new Subaru WRX, albeit in US-market spec. Subaru hasn’t yet decided whether or not to offer the new-era ‘Impreza’ in the UK, though CAR understands the WRX would be pitched as a range flagship and priced above the £25k BRZ sports coupe. Read on to find out what the UK stands to miss out on… In a surprise to precisely no-one, the new WRX uses a turbocharged boxer four-cylinder engine, driving all four-wheels via a choice of six-speed manual or a CVT transmission.

Italian firm buys stake in Aston Martin

The former owner of Italian motorcycle maker Ducati has bought a 37.5-percent stake in financially strapped British car maker Aston Martin. The move means future Astons could use modern drivelines and electric architectures from Mercedes-Benz's AMG division, insiders with knowledge of the deal suggest. Private equity fund Investindustrial has signed a memorandum of understanding with current Aston Martin owner Investment Dar of Kuwait that will see it pay $240 million (150 million pounds) for the ownership stake.