1986 86 Vw Volkswagen Cabriolet Brochure Cabriolet, Cabriolet Best Seller on 2040-parts.com

4x4 prices rise sharply

FOUR-WHEEL-DRIVE cars are soaring on the used car market, according to car auction house British Car Auctions (BCA). Off-roader values rose by up to 16% in October as the first signs of winter emerged. With some medium-term weather forecasts highlighting a colder-than-average winter, BCA is predicting that 4x4 prices may keep rising.

CAR interviews Mazda design chief Ikuo Maeda (2010)

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 02 September 2010 13:30 CAR has been out to Italy to see the world premier of the new Mazda Shinari concept car. It's the car that ushers in chief designer Ikuo Maeda's new Kodo design mantra, a sharper, faster stylistic treatment that will take over from Laurens van den Acker's Nagare vision. Maeda is the first Japanese design boss for a generation – it seems that Mazda has looked within after a series of European creative brains who each stayed for five years or less, arguably not long enough to see through any substantial aesthetic change.

Walter de'Silva awarded medal for special services to Bavaria

Walter de'Silva has been awarded a medal for special services to the Free State of Bavaria. Volkswagen's head of group design was told in a letter from the Bavarian state minister of Federal and European Affairs Emilia Müller that he had "changed the form language and design culture of Germany as a vehicle designer," going on to praise his "outstanding achievement with the world-class company Audi". De'Silva says, "I am very pleased about this honor.