Baldwin Bf5813 Fuel Filter on 2040-parts.com

Councils make £594m from parking

RECORD SURPLUSES from parking revenues have been achieved by councils, according to the RAC Foundation. In 2012/13 councils in England generated a combined "profit" of £594 million from their on and off-street parking operations, the foundation said. This was a 5% increase on the figure of £565 million for 2011/12, and just 52 of the 353 parking authorities in England reported a deficit in 2012/13.

Video: Chris Bangle delivers “Empowerment: Design without Designers” talk at Creative Mornings/London

Chris Bangle – the undisputed front man of car design – needs little introduction, so the prospect of the former BMW Design Director and now founder of Chris Bangle Associates giving a talk in our home town of London was too good to pass up. His presentation (which you can watch in full in the video to the left) touched on his time at BMW, but was more focused on the idea of empowering others to create: "design without you in the middle", as Bangle says. From the story of the co-creation of the staircase in his Italian studio to the idea of encouraging people to think about their culture when designing, his philosophies transcend disciplines.

Michelin Challenge Design announces 2009 jury

Michelin Challenge Design, one of the world's top design competitions, has announced its panel of judges for 2009. The distinguished group of automotive design leaders will meet in July at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, to select the vehicle designs and concepts for special exhibition at the 2009 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit next January. This year marks the eighth year for the international competition.