84-8m0055044 Mercury Tachometer Harness Verson 6.0 on 2040-parts.com

Aston Martin to continue with V12 engine as well as new Mercedes AMG V8

Aston’s Flagship cars, like the Vanquish (pictured) will still offer the V12 engine Aston Martin has certainly been looking to the future with renewed optimism over the last year as a series of deals gave them a lifeline to remain competitive in an increasingly corporate car world. Extra funding came in thanks to the involvement of Investindustrial’s new stake in Aston Martin, and a deal has been done with Mercedes AMG to supply new V8 engines and electronic architecture. Not only that, but Aston Martin are developing a new platform for their future range of cars, with the biggest investment in Aston Martin’s history.

Design Sevices: MCE Design Workshops

Independent design studio Motorcity Europe (MCE) is launching another series of two- and five-day design workshops aimed at broadening the skills, experience and job prospects of anyone working - or looking to work - within the field of automotive design. Based on the massive success of the MCE Summer Seminars, these follow up workshops in February 2010 will be an intensely improved version, open to all skill levels of design. Top sponsors including Autodesk, Wacom and RLE Int'l will also be supporting this event.

Concept Car of the Week: Volkswagen Microbus (2001)

The turn of the millennium seemed to induce a feeling of nostalgia among car manufacturers and with it a plethora of heritage/retro designs, including the new Mini, new Ford Mustang and Nissan Z. Following the runaway success of its New Beetle, which probably started the trend, VW asked itself whether it could enjoy the same success with a modern interpretation of the legendary T1 Microbus. Designed at the surf-central design studio in Simi Valley, California, the Microbus Concept took ample inspiration from its distant ancestor, but was modernized in every way.