03l130301ar Org Vag Pipeline- on 2040-parts.com

Driven: BMW i8

When BMW unveiled the Vision EfficientDynamics concept at the 2009 Frankfurt motor show, we wrote: "for our money, it's the first time a major carmaker has really attempted to communicate ‘green' technology in an aesthetic sense." Fast-forward five years and we've swapped the show halls of the IAA for a beauty spot on the north-west coast of Scotland. And, while the car's name has changed to i8, our sentiment towards this genre- and era-defining car remains. Admittedly the production car's design execution hasn't received the universal praise of its concept forebears, but, on a remote outpost of the British Isles, a Protonic Blue i8 couldn't look more exotic.

Modern Vinyl: Ford rocks custom cladding for Mustang and F-150

Looking to wrap your ride in a new identity? Ford is offering custom vinyl graphics for two of its spotlight vehicles--the Mustang and the F-150. They graphics are available through www.fordcustomgraphics.com, and nearly 50 designs will be sold to visually enhance each of the Blue Oval icons.

Mini Rocketman concept (2011) at 2011 Geneva motor show

The new Mini Rocketman is manna from heaven for critics who bemoan the new BMW Mini’s growth spurt from bijou city car to bloated supersized mini. The Rocketman, Mini’s 2011 Geneva motor show debutant, is a blueprint for a new kind of smaller Mini – and it’s within an inch or two of Alec Issignois’s 1959 original. Don’t dismiss the Mini Rocketman as pie-in-the-sky concept.