97 Ducati St2 944 Rear Trunk Latches W/ Key on 2040-parts.com

Behind The Scenes: Hot Wheels Design Studio [w/Video]

Hot Wheels' vice president of design Felix Holst has spent some time chatting to Cool Hunting about the brand's design philosophy at its Design Studio at Mattel's headquarters in El Segundo, California, in a new video. According to Holst Hot Wheels has evolved from being focused on muscle cars and V8 engines to being all about technology as a reflection of the new generation they're designing for.  He explains the benefits of designing over 240 vehicles a year that aren't limited by rules and regulations, saying in a studio that's driven by pushing the boundaries, it's a question of just how wild they can get.  The video really captures not only the men's passion for their jobs but the fun they have doing it. Small wonder Holst says he'd never go back to car design, and reveals the studio is packed with qualified car designers who chose Hot Wheels over conventional jobs in the industry.  We also hear from Hot Wheels Car Maker's designer Julian Payne, who explains how the new Car Maker – which gives you the chance to mold your own custom Hot Wheels at home – works.

Prize for budding young motoring journalists

By Peter Adams Motoring Issues 03 June 2009 12:39 Aspiring young car writers searching for a gateway into motoring journalism may want to start typing and enter The Sir William Lyons Award 2009. The Sir William Lyons Award, which is sponsored by Jaguar and promoted by The Guild of Motoring Writers, is free to enter and open to anyone aged between 17 and 23, of British nationality and resident in the United Kingdom. The winner will receive a trophy and a cheque for £2000 at the Guild’s annual dinner and awards evening in London.

Volkswagen give the VW XL1 Ducati power

Volkswagen give the VW XL1 Ducati power It’s more than two years since Volkswagen rolled out the VW XL1 Super Efficient Vehicle as a demonstration of how light weight and low power can make for extremely economical motoring. But the silly mpg VW quoted for the XL1 – 313mpg – comes at a fairly horrible price, with the news at Geneva this year that the XL1 is heading for limited production, but with a price tag likely to be around £100k. Bit it seems that VW has found a new use for the XL1, and this time it’s not about extreme economy but more about real performance.