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

Survey reveals in-car climate clashes

CLIMATE change isn’t just leading to arguments in politics – it’s causing heat in cars, too, because it seems men and women simply can’t agree on what temperature to set. A new study from Kwik Fit has revealed that 52% of couples whose cars have air conditioning argue over what temperature to set it at, and it’s usually men who want it cooler than their female companions. And as many as 250,000 drivers across the country say their air-con preferences are so different to their partner’s that they simply have to keep the system turned off to avoid bust-ups.

Pininfarina Sintesi

By Guy Bird Motor Shows 10 March 2008 12:03 What’s new on Pininfarina’s Geneva Motor Show stand? Italian coachbuilder and design house Pininfarina showed another stunning concept at Geneva to follow the 2005 Maserati Birdcage and 2004 Nido. The 2008 Sintesi is strictly an ‘ideas concept’ imagining a future vehicle that can communicate with other cars to avoid traffic and accidents and thus reduce the need for current passive safety requirements – like longer and heavier front noses to meet pedestrian impact laws.

Q&A: David Townsend, GM global design director, user experience

GM's new design director of user experience, David Townsend, has only been in the job just over a month. But with a remit extending to the interface design of every vehicle in GM's global portfolio, his influence will soon be widespread. After graduating from Art Center with a degree in transportation design, Townsend interned for Toyota but soon moved to Motorola, where he developed wearable Bluetooth technology and designed the familiar headsets worn by coaches in the NFL.