1998 Pontiac Trans Sport Automatic Transmission 2151240 on 2040-parts.com

“Where is the sustainable vehicle design?”

The notion of a 'new paradigm in car design' was a theme running through talks by five panelists at London's Royal College of Art last week, who debated "Seriously now, where is the sustainable vehicle design?" Despite disparate backgrounds, there was broad agreement that a truly sustainable form of personal transportation is unlikely to come from an established automotive firm any time soon. Panelist Rob Holdway of Giraffe Innovation was most vocal in his approach to the subject, saying "Frankly, I think the car is unacceptable - we hear a lot about the sustainable car, but I don't think there is such a thing as a sustainable car". The audience - made up mainly of RCA students - also heard from Nico Sergent of Riversimple about how the company's seven-point business model, and its open source strategy, incentivized the company to build a truly sustainable car and mobility package that the current auto model simply doesn't allow.

Two new Aston Martin models to debut at New York auto show

Aston Martin has announced that it will debut new versions of its Vantage and DB9 sports cars at the New York auto show. At $99,900, the Vantage GT becomes the lowest-price option in the Aston Martin lineup. With a 430-hp V8, a 190-mph top speed and some seriously attractive bodywork, the budget model could prove tempting to Porsche 911 buyers.

Mercedes A-class at 2012 Geneva motor show

Mercedes whisked the covers off the new A-class on the eve of the 2012 Geneva motor show. As predicted, it's a lower, sleeker, more Golf-like alternative to the Golf, sitting 18cm closer to thetarmac. These first official pictures of the new 2012 Mercedes A-class prove the 'tallboy' look is over for good and the production car closely apes the look of the Concept A-class.