807130-c Alpha Y Pipe on 2040-parts.com

SAIC's Mobiliant wins 2013 LA Design Challenge

SAIC has been revealed as the winner of this year's LA Design Challenge. The Chinese carmaker's entry, a single-seat urban public transit vehicle, was declared the victor after intense judging sessions took place throughout the LA auto show's second press day. The panel – which included Tom Matano, executive director, School of Industrial Design at San Francisco's Academy of Art University, and Stewart Reed, chair of Transportation Design at Pasadena's Art Center College of Design – combed through the entries, discussing their merits and how closely they fit the brief, before hearing the teams' presentations in the afternoon.

BMW 2 Series Active Tourer specs and prices – costs from £22,195

The new BMW 2 Series Active Tourer (pictured) specs and prices BMW’s foray in to the world of front wheel drive MPVs arrived at the Geneva Motor Show as the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer, BMW’s answer to the Mercedes B Class. Sitting on the same platform as the new MINI, the Active Tourer will come with FWD as default but will be available with 4WD too and in a choice of four trim levels – SE, Luxury, Sport and M Sport. Engine choices at launch are limited, with the just the 1.5 litre three-cylinder with 134bhp in the 218i and the 2.0 litre diesel with 148bhp available in the 218d.

GM to invest $230 million in four Michigan plants to build Chevrolet Volt, Cruze

General Motors Co. said Tuesday it will invest more than $230 million in four plants around Flint, Mich., to help build the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze compact and the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid sedan. The move will restore about 500 jobs, GM said in a statement.