Airtex 5s4714 Speed Sensor on 2040-parts.com

Nissan NV3500 passenger van promises quiet and safety

Early this year Nissan introduced a full-sized commercial panel van that's offered in two flavors -- standard and tall; as in, you can walk around the interior. So it was just a matter of time until Nissan targeted the hotel shuttle and church bus crowd with a windowed passenger model using that platform. First impression is that Nissan's windowed van is a very credible competitor for a segment that has been dominated by the Ford E-series and the Chevrolet Express, and to a lesser degree by the GMC Savana and Mercedes-Benz and Freightliner Sprinter.

Umeå Institute of Design Degree Show 2008

Masters students at Sweden's Umeå University Institute of Design exhibited their final projects in the annual Degree Exhibition in early June. This year 38 students exhibited their work, including 7 from MA Transportation Design, 5 from MA Advanced Product Design, 6 from MA Interaction Design and a further 20 from the BA Industrial Design course. The MA Transportation Design programme is led by Tony Catignani, with Nick Coughlan as external tutor.

1961 Ford Gyron concept scale model sells for $40,000

A scale model of the 1961 Ford Gyron concept has sold at auction for $40,000, around four times its estimate. The space-age concept car – designed by Alex Tremulis, McKinley Thompson, Syd Mead, Bill Dayton, John Najjar, and Elwood Engel – debuted in 1961 at the New York International Auto Show and featured two wheels mounted along the car's centerline, usung a gyroscope for stability. The full-size model – which relied on stabilizing wheels instead of a gyroscope – also predicted the development of satellite navigation systems, car phones and infrared sensing.