1957-58 Cadillac Horn Rings (2) on 2040-parts.com

Project Car Hell, Air-Cooled Inferno Edition: oval-window Beetle or Type 34 Karmann Ghia?

Here we are in the Automotive Lake of Fire again, and we feel compelled to follow up a couple of marginal-classic Fiat projects with a pair of indisputable classic Volkswagens. After Ferdinand Porsche appropriated the basic design for the original Beetle from Tatra designer Hans Ledwinka (but before Tatra successfully sued Volkswagen), Volkswagen turned one innovative rear-engined vehicle platform into quite a lineup of cars and trucks. These days, while some types of air-cooled VW projects are cheap and plentiful, the rarer ones are much-sought-after and tough to find in semi-restorable condition.

Volvo C30 Electric: A severe cold-weather bashing

Voilvo has been cold weather testing the electric C30 at temperatures as low as -20C We do have more than a degree of scepticism when it comes to electric cars. Actually, it’s not the electric cars that cause us to be sceptical, more so the claims – or a lack of transparency - by car makers, which gets right up our nose. There’s an implication that the electric car is a replacement for the ICE car.

Peugeot RCZ View Top: It’s an RCZ with a Venetian blind for a roof

Magna Steyr is showcasing its technology with the Peugeot RCZ View Top Concept featuring a roof made of folding glass panels. The USP of the RCZ is its Zagato-esque double-bubble glass roof, a daring (and expensive)  design feature for a modestly priced production car. But what the double-bubble roof does is give a little bit of extra headroom in the back of the RCZ which makes it just about useable for vertically challenged passengers.