Bilstein Ak-7110sb on 2040-parts.com

What we drive: 1994 Mazda RX-7 R2

Blame it on the 1993 Montego blue RX-7 parked a block away from my childhood home--and the cover photo of the competition yellow mica R1 gracing one of the other monthly car magazines that year. Either way, it was 1993 when my captivation with the third-generation Mazda RX-7 caught fire. I was 10 years old.

Land Rover Discovery facelift (2013) tweaked looks, engines and specs

While the long-wheelbase Range Rover and impressive new Range Sport hog the headlines, Land Rover has lavished a bit of TLC on its second-oldest model: the Discovery. New for this iteration are redesigned lights, a more economical engine, and a handful of extra techie options. Certainly doesn’t look like a nine-year old car, the Discovery… Strictly, this is an updated Discovery 4, which has only been on sale since 2009, but the 4 is essentially a heavily facelifted version of 2004’s Discovery 3: it retains the dual chassis unibody/body-on-frame construction responsible for the 2570kg kerb weight.

The Future Role of the Vehicle Designer

The vehicle design department at the Royal College of Art hosted the second in a series of five lectures looking at the future of the profession last week. Moving on from the previous week's topic of sustainability, this debate explored the future roles and responsibilities of the vehicle designer. Head of department Dale Harrow began by posing the question "Is it time to rethink – do we still need the car?" Although still relevant, Harrow's ultimate answer to this was that the profession was about to see marked change, with the end to an era where "designers are locked behind closed doors in studios".