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

CDN - Opel/Vauxhall Interactive Competition - Exterior Phase Update

There are less than two weeks left for European design students to submit their exterior entry to the Car Design News - Opel/Vauxhall Interactive Design competition. The competition, which closes to entries on Friday February 11th, asks students to design a lounge exterior, based around the design of one of the three finalists of the interior competition. To register and view the brief go to www.cardesigncontest.com Students must base their exterior design around one of the designs by either: Victor Uribe and his ‘Opel City Lounge' - a maglev-inspired, levitating lounge in which users can sit in a variety of position thanks to the reconfigurable maglev interior surfaces.

MIT researchers rethink electric-car batteries

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say a new battery design for electric vehicles could be a lightweight and inexpensive alternative. The goal for the team's three-year project, launched in September 2010, is to have a functioning prototype ready to be engineered as a replacement for existing electric-car batteries. At this point in the project, the prototype uses a “semi-solid flow” to separate the two functions of a battery--storing energy and discharging it when needed--into separate physical structures.

Seat celebrates 60 years of production

SPANISH car maker Seat has this week celebrated its 60th anniversary, releasing pictures dating back to its very first model, the 1400. Six decades have now passed since the first 1400 rolled off the production line, when the brand new company was inundated with 10,000 orders following the end of petrol rationing in Spain. With so much production demand Seat was able to drop the initial price of 121,875 to a more reasonable 117,000 pesetas, or what would have been about £590 at the time.