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

Seat's supersized Altea XL (2006): first official pictures

By Phil McNamara First Official Pictures 22 August 2006 00:01 The lowdown Seat has altered the Altea, with a redesigned rear end that boosts practicality. The Altea XL is similar in concept to Volkswagen's enlarged Golf, the Plus, but the Seat is an even better load-lugger. It goes on UK sale in February 2007.

Vauxhall planning City Car

The 2004 Opel TRIXX Concept With the world and his dog seemingly trying to squeeze in to smaller and smaller cars, it should come as no surprise that Vauxhall/Opel’s new boss in Europe – Nick Reilly – says that the number one priority for GM in Europe is a new City Car. After all, what was once considered as small as you need to go – the Corsa or the Agila – seems something of a heffalump compared to many of the city cars flooding in to our cities. So how far down the line are Vauxhall with their City Car plans?

The Future Role of the Vehicle Designer

The vehicle design department at the Royal College of Art hosted the second in a series of five lectures looking at the future of the profession last week. Moving on from the previous week's topic of sustainability, this debate explored the future roles and responsibilities of the vehicle designer. Head of department Dale Harrow began by posing the question "Is it time to rethink – do we still need the car?" Although still relevant, Harrow's ultimate answer to this was that the profession was about to see marked change, with the end to an era where "designers are locked behind closed doors in studios".