Arias Pistons 12.5:1 Compression 82mm Bore Honda B-series on 2040-parts.com

Mini Vision concept: what does it say about the brand's future?

The sight of Mini design head Anders Warming presenting a holographic, 3D projection of the Mini Vision concept as if appearing in his own cartoon was certainly a new one on us, but it captured the quirky, slightly left-field image the subsidiary of BMW Group has cultivated since its relaunch 13 years ago. As the 'Vision' tag suggests, this is billed as a marker of intent for the brand's future design direction rather than a pre-production teaser of the new Mini hatchback (Cooper in most markets) we'll see later this year. However if the third-generation 'new' Mini doesn't look remarkably similar we'd be amazed, such is the level of productionized detailing on this purely digital model.

Coventry University students prepare for the MA Design Degree Show

MA students from England's Coventry University Automotive Design course are preparing for their annual degree exhibition. This year's Show, entitled '15' will present fifteen students work from the fifteen month course in the new Coventry Transport Museum in the centre of the city.   The projects on show cover the full spectrum of vehicle concepts ranging from a luxury car inspired by Chanel perfume to a future proposal for a New York taxi and students have taken a wide variety of starting points for their project research.

July 7: A couple of suggestions

Since I got home with more than half a charge last night I didn't plug it in. I ran a couple errands, 10 miles, then drove 22 miles to work. So that's 22 plus 22 plus 10 and I drained the battery.