Automatic Transmission, 1994 Nissan Maxima on 2040-parts.com

Alfa 4C beats Aston Martin DBS (AM310) to Villa D’Este prize

The Alfa Romeo 4C has beaten the Aston Martin Project AM310 (new AM DBS) to the prize for best concept at Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. As you can’t have failed to notice, this last weekend was the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, an elegant and delightful car event on the shores of Lake Como in Italy. And the new Aston Martin DBS (Project AM310) was the big news.

Ford S-MAX Concept at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show

Ford is clearly pretty pleased with the performance of its S-MAX model line, and why not? The car has carved out an enviable niche for itself as the big MPV for people who don’t want to be saddled with a borderline minibus by their over-productive loins. The new S-MAX Concept, unveiled at Frankfurt by Barb Samardzich, Ford Europe’s vice president of Product Development, continues those themes.

Festival of the Unexceptional: the bad cars we love

Ever been to a classic car show and noticed how many old MGBs and sports cars of yesteryear have turned up, driven by their proud owners, but wondered what happened to all the more mainstream stuff? There are twice as many Ferrari 308 GTBs on the roads in the UK than Austin Allegros, because the everyday cars of the past fail MOTs, get chucked away and replaced with shiny new hatchbacks. Fortunately, there is a select group of people in the UK who care for the mundane stuff of yesterday and, because of this, a new event for “unexceptional” cars will be taking place this summer.