2001 Suzuki Rm250 Left Engine Case (b) 01 Rm 250 on 2040-parts.com

Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid: Production underway

The world’s first production plug-in diesel hybrid – the Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid – has gone in to production ahead of customer deliveries. Volvo are producing just 1,000 2013 V60 plug-ins, but are aiming to up production to between 4-6,000 a year from the 2014 model year and, despite the problems of integrating the V60′s complicated electric stuff in to a production car, the V60 plug-in is rolling down the same production line as the regular V60, V70, S80 and XC90. That complicated stuff includes two different powertrains and a battery pack – enough for up to 32 miles as an EV only – and a total of 300 additional parts compared to a regular ICE V60.

2014 Mercedes S Class LIVE reveal

The new S Class (W222) gets a bit longer than the current S Class (by 20mm), a bit wider (28mm) and a bit lower (25mm) but the wheelbase of the standard S Class stays the same at 3035mm with the long wheelbase S Class getting an extra 130mm for extra sprawling room. There will be a variety of engines on offer in the new S Class (from parsimonious 4-cylinders to mighty V12s) but we’re expecting at launch that just three will be on offer – the S350 diesel with a 255bhp V6, the S400 with a 300bhp V6 petrol and the S500 with a 4.7 litre turbo petrol with 450bhp. In terms of styling, Mercedes appear to have taken away much of the bulbous look of the current S Class and replaced it with a more flowing shape, but one that’s still very much S Class.

College Exhibition: Strate College Degree Show 2006

Graduating Transportation Design students at France's Strate College displayed their Diploma projects in the school's annual degree show, held at the central Paris school June 23-24. A jury of design managers from major European and international manufacturers including Renault, Citroen, General Motors, Hyundai, DaimlerChrysler and Volkswagen assessed the graduating students' work. The exhibition included work from the schools programs in Transportation Design, Product Design, Luxury Design, Services Design, Graphic Design, Packaging Design and a new three-year program in Modeling.