1977 Yamaha Xz 360 Rear Fender on 2040-parts.com

AutoDesign Prague 2013: Design from the Heart of Europe

Charismatic designers, inspirational speeches and beautiful cars in an informal and friendly atmosphere was the order of the day at the third edition of the international automotive design conference AutoDesign Prague, which once again highlighted the importance of car culture and tradition's strong roots within the Czech Republic. In recent years, speakers have included prominent figures from the world of automotive design such as the Geely Group's Peter Horbury, Dassault Systèmes' Anne Asensio, Pininfarina's Fabio Filippini and design consultant Peter Stevens. This year's conference was themed ‘Design from the Heart of Europe' and so featured many Czech and Slovakian speakers.

Mercedes Electric Drive B-Class at Paris 2012

Mercedes has revealed an electric version of the new B-Class – the B-Class Electric Drive Concept – which will debut at Paris 2012. Mercedes has revealed the electric B-Class in the guise of the B-Class Electric Drive Concept – a name Mercedes say will find its way on to the boot of all electric Mercedes, Smart and Tesla cars – which previews a production version by 2014. Powering the B-Class Electric Drive is the Smart electric Drive powerplant, located in the space normally taken up by the ICE, which offers 134bhp and a healthy 228lb/ft of torque with the batteries to power the electric motor housed in what Mercedes are calling the B-Class’s Energy space ahead of the rear axle.

Real UK car sales ‘have halved’ in November 2008

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 02 December 2008 09:58 The United Kingdom’s car market is in freefall, CAR has learned. Although official registration figures won’t be released until later this week, we can reveal that retail sales slumped by 45% in November 2008. It’s a crucial metric, retail registrations being actual sales to real people – as opposed to bulk-buy fleet deals to businesses (which are also down).