99-03 Yamaha Xv1600a Road Star Saddlemen Renegade Deluxe Rear Touring Seat Y035 on 2040-parts.com

July 25: Plugging in while surfing

Went surfing, 33 miles away. 33 plus 33 is 66. Should have been within the range limits of the car but I used up nine kWhs on the first leg of mostly freeway driving, which suggests I wouldn't make it home.

New De Tomaso Pantera at Frankfurt

What is thought to be the new Pantera leaving the De Tomaso facility So far all we’ve officially had from the new De Tomaso, now run by ex Fiat man Gian Mario Rossignolo, is the not particularly well-received De Tomaso Deauville at Geneva in the Spring. It seemed an odd route for the revived De Tomaso to go, and an odd choice of name. The Deauville seems to be halfway between the (poor-selling) BMW 5-Series GT and a Porsche Cayenne.

Design Services: Car Menu launched

Within almost every automotive design department throughout the world, their comes a time when a junior designer is dispatched to find a picture of some new model's tail lamp, the side view of a particular class leading competitor or examples of several new cars' colour and trim packages. Whilst looking at the competition is not necessarily a healthy way of finding ideas, it is often essential to demonstrate what is feasible, check in-house proposals are not too derivative, or show how advanced a design theme is relative to the same type of cars on the market. But even if the particular aspect of a car can be found, press packs and magazines typically show cars in the flattering light of an exotic location or being drifted around a corner on opposite lock; rarely are these images particularly useful.