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

London Taxi maker Manganese Bronze bought by China’s Geely

China automotive giant Geely has bought Manganese Bronze – makers of the iconic London Black Cab – in an £11.04 million deal. The iconic London Black Cab has been an accident waiting to happen for years, as under investment in making the Black Cab fit for the 21st century saw competition – like the Mercedes Vito Taxi and the Nissan NV200 Cab – start to offer serious competition to the taxi that identifies London. Despite an investment by China’s Geely – when Geely bought 20 per cent of Manganese Bronze, makers of the Black Cab – and the bulk of the Black Cab being produced in China and bolted together in the Midlands, the final nail in the coffin for Manganese Bronze was the recall of 400 TX4 cabs over a steering fault.

2010 Audi A8 to launch in Miami

The Audi Pavilion at Design Miami USA where Audi will reveal the 2010 A8 The long, drawn-out saga of the next generation Audi A8 is finally being resolved with the announcement that Audi are going to launch the A8 on the eve of the Design Miami USA event – 30th November. Which does seem a bit of an odd place for a mainstream, high-end car maker to launch its new flagship. Are Audi saying that the new A8 is all about design, rather than performance or luxury or, quite frankly, anything else?

Car Designers Blackmailed

A London court has found former design student Guy Lloyd-Parker guilty of blackmailing US car designers. The London College of Fashion graduate had claimed that 95 car design sketches were stolen from him by two college lecturers in 1994, eventually resurfacing as final designs in the form of the Audi TT, BMW Z3, Mazda RX-8 and the Volvo XC90. Lloyd-Parker, having failed to successfully sue the college, began sending menacing letters to California-based Volvo Design Director Geza Loczi, former BMW and Aston Martin designer Henrik Fisker, and ex-Mazda designer Tsutomu Matano demanding £90,000.