2001-03 Gen1 Toyota Prius Hybrid Battery Cells, Shell, Cables, Bars G9280-47050 on 2040-parts.com

VW group design future

By Adam Towler Motor Industry 23 June 2008 19:01 VW Group’s Design Director Walter De Silva shed light on the future direction of Volkswagen design during a lecture earlier this week at the old Fiat Lingotto factory in Turin. Extolling his own thoughts on design amid the current world – “constraints are what promotes creativity” - he described VW as being immersed in a process of defining their design language as Audi had already done to achieve the quality and diversity necessary. Audi design DNA was “understood by everyone in the company” he said, “right down to the smallest details”.

Tata ramps up production of Nano to boost slow sales

Tata is cranking up supply of the Nano in India to counter sluggish sales. Until now, supply has been pretty limited with sales most months struggling to break beyond four figures; hardly the breakthrough expected from the widely hyped cheapest car in the world. A new plant in Sanand recently came on stream and it has a capacity of 250,000 cars a year.

Mercedes-Benz considering Aston Martin buyout

Mercedes-Benz is reportedly considering a deal to buyout sports car manufacturer Aston Martin, fuelling rumours that the canned Aston Martin Lagonda SUV concept from 2009 (pictured above) could once again be back on. The move would see Merc increase its current 5% stake in the British brand following a deal announced last year to supply AMG engines for Aston’s next generation of sports cars. On Bing: see pictures of the Aston Martin Lagonda SUV concept Find out how much a used Aston Martin costs on Auto Trader It’s no secret the firm has been toying with the idea of a premium SUV following the Lagonds concept, so with Mercedes technical expertise and existing model range, it opens up potential new models to Aston Martin.