Blog on 2040Parts

The Toyota FT-1 sure does look like the Bertone Mantide

We really liked the Toyota FT-1, which caught us off guard in the best possible way when it emerged at the Detroit auto show. In fact, we liked Toyota's “spiritual pace car” enough to call it the most fun new thing on the floor -- and we're hoping the automaker's execs take notice. Reader Dennis Liu certainly noticed the car, which seemed rather familiar to him: He feels that, coincidentally or not, it looks a lot like the Bertone Mantide.

Jaguar SUV/Crossover (C-X17) gets another outing with another new paint job

Jaguar SUV/Crossover (C-X17) gets another outing – this time in Italian Racing Red The Jaguar SUV Crossover arrived at the Frankfurt Motor Show last year as a ‘Concept’, although it’s clear Jaguar has plans to make it a production reality. That was given more credence with a new version of the Jaguar SUV arriving at the Dubai Motor Show in November with an all new Liquid Metal paint job (that looked better than the debut car’s Jaguar Racing Blue car) and an outing for the C-X17 at the Guangzhou Motor Show with a gold paint job as Jaguar continued to garner feedback for their SUV/Crossover plans. Now Jaguar has arrived at the Brussels Motor Show with yet another colour take on the C-X17 – this time Italian Racing Red – although, as far as we can tell, there are no other changes to the C-X17 from the original car’s appearance.

New Citroen Grand C4 Picasso price from £19,200

New Citroen Grand C4 Picasso (pictured) price from £19,200 It’s been six months since the new Citroen Grand C4 Picasso was revealed, but Citroen UK has finally got round to putting it on sale and coming up with a price. The seven-seat Grand C4 Picasso starts at £19,200 for the entry-level 1.6 litre 120bhp VTR petrol rising to £27,855 for the all-singing Exclusive+ with the 150bhp 2.0 litre diesel. That’s £1,700 more than the five-seat C4 Picasso.

OSVehicle – the flat-pack car you can build in an hour

Ever dreamt of building your own car, maybe even designing the bodywork and literally bolting it together yourself? Then the Open Source Vehicle – or OSVehicle – is here to help. This is quite literally a flat-pack car.

'Barn find' Ferrari 330 GTS set to fetch $2 million

There are two things that strike us about so-called 'barn finds'. One - how do you actually 'lose' a car, only to discover it a number of years later? And secondly - how come we never stumble across an old motor when touring the countryside?

Police authorities turning a blind eye to lane hoggers

REX Features MSN Cars can exclusively reveal that just 13 drivers have been fined for lane hogging on the M25 since new laws were introduced last year – while thousands are still penalised for breaking the speed limit. The news comes following a freedom of information request carried out by MSN to the six police authorities covering London’s orbital motorway, which according to the Department for Transport carries 153,000 vehicles a day. Fines for middle-lane hogs from this FridayOn Bing: see pictures of motorway lane hoggers The law was changed on 16 August 2013 to give police officers the power to fine motorists £100 for sitting in the middle lane of the motorway, or any other form of driving considered “careless”, such as tailgating.

Configure and price the 2015 Chrysler 200 of your dreams online

Perhaps we're more excited about the 2015 Chrysler 200, which just made its official debut at the Detroit auto show, than we ought to be. In one sense, it's just another compact sedan in a segment full of capable vehicles. But we didn't have a lot of love for the looks or performance of the current car, which felt like a carryover from Detroit's darkest days hanging around until something more competitive came down the assembly line.

Porsche Macan makes Harrods debut

THE PORSCHE Macan has been given its first public UK appearance – as the star of a Harrods window display. The world-famous department store in London’s Knightsbridge is playing host to the Macan, the 911 Turbo S, the Panamera S E-Hybrid and a scale model of the amazing 918 Spyder hybrid hypercar. Between 10am and 8pm daily, the public will be able to get up close and personal with each of the distinctive displays, two months before the Macan’s official arrival in British Porsche Centres.

RAC to carry universal spare wheel

The RAC believes call outs to cars with punctures but no spare wheel will reach 250,000 a year by 2015, so has decided to roll out its own universal spare wheel as a hassle-reducing solution. The universal spare wheel, which has already been successfully trialled, should become standard equipment for all RAC breakdown patrols by early February 2014. On Bing: see pictures of universal spare wheels Spare wheel solution from the RAC The RAC has taken this step as increasingly few modern cars are sold with a factory-fitted spare wheel as standard.

Second new London taxi of 2014 unveiled

LONDONERS had better prepare themselves for another new generation of taxi, just days after Nissan confirmed its own assault on the Black Cab market. The plug-in hybrid Fraser-Nash Range Extended Electric Metrocab is capable of more than 75mpg and less than 50g/km of CO2, and is expected to cost no more than a current Hackney carriage. The company says the vehicle could save cabbies £30 to £40 per day in running costs and can go longer between fill-ups.

One In Five Behind The Wheel Is Over 65

WE’RE constantly being told that more mature citizens are making up an increasing proportion of the population, and nowhere is this more obvious than on our roads. According to road safety charity the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), there are now more than seven million drivers over the age of 65 in the UK. The figures come from driving licence data published by the DVLA in December 2013, and show that the number of drivers over 65 reached 7,191,192 in November 2013.

Runaway ostrich causes traffic chaos

Rush hour in the town of Tunbridge Wells took a humorous turn yesterday when a runaway ostrich shot past cars at speeds of over 40mph, with a clear disregard for road conditions, traffic and speed limits. Alarmingly, the rogue bird is still on the run from police and there are fears it could cause carnage in the town centre, as the RSCPA warns fully-grown ostriches max out at around 60mph. On Bing: see pictures of runaway ostriches Cars named after animals If the ostrich were to collide with an individual, its lack of crumple zones means the pedestrian could be badly injured and, as far we’re aware, ostriches are yet to be put through strict Euro NCAP crash tests.

Police ‘spitalyser’ to catch drug-drivers

Motorists who smoke cannabis before driving will soon find it harder to evade police thanks to a new device dubbed the ‘spitalyser’. The government is spending £120,000 rolling out the devices – also known as ‘drugalysers’ – across 11 police forces for a trial period. On Bing: see pictures of the spitalyser Drug-driving ‘drugalyser’ testing kit approved The spitalysers test the saliva of drivers suspected of being high on cannabis, and are expected to be announced by transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin this afternoon.

New Mustang hits the silver screen

THE ALL-NEW Ford Mustang is following is ancestors onto the silver screen when it makes it film debut in Need for Speed, which is out on 14 March. Starring Aaron Paul, the film uses a bright red Mustang Fastback. The film’s director, Scott Waugh, said: ‘I chose the Mustang because it is a car that represents American culture and modern muscle cars.

VW logo gets pupil banned from school

A schoolboy has been kicked out of lessons after having the Volkswagen logo shaved into his hair. 11-year-old Zac’s mum, Charlotte Eccleston, and her partner both drive Volkswagen Golfs, and they’re his favourite car. On Bing: see pictures of Zac’s haircut Find out how much a used Volkswagen costs on Auto Trader So, when allowed to have a new do over the Christmas holidays, Zac opted to have the VW logo shaved onto the back of his head.

Warning over congestion charge scam

DRIVERS in London are being warned to look out for unofficial Congestion Charge websites that charge as much as a £6 premium to pay the congestion fee to drive into central London. Following an Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) ruling, the ASA upheld three complaints relating to the paylondoncongestion.co.uk. The ruling said this site was "likely to lead consumers to believe that the web page was an official method of paying the London congestion charge and was affiliated with Transport for London (TfL)." TfL says the case relates to just one of a number of websites that offer to pay the Congestion Charge on behalf of drivers, but these sites are not official payment channels and can charge up to £6 for the service.

2015 Ford Mustang: By the numbers

We're just getting over our Detroit auto show hangover, reveling in the more-than-1000 pictures we took at the event. Among the reveals was the new 2015 Ford Mustang, which up until now, we've only seen in pictures. We have to say, its proportions are growing on us.

One lap of the web: Arizona auctions edition

-- Pink was not a color offered for the Chevrolet Corvette -- a fact you're probably aware of. But one example was finished in (a rather nice, we think) shade of pink right at the factory for Harley Earl's wife. Hemmings Daily has the story on this rare car, which is heading to auction this week.

Motown’s greatest hits ­– all the best cars from the Detroit Motor Show 2014

Detroit, heart of the American car industry, traditionally hosts the first motor show of the year each January. Officially known as the North American International Auto Show – or NAIAS – it’s a chance for carmakers to kick-start the coming 12 months with a bit of glamour and sparkle. And the 2014 Detroit Motor Show has not disappointed, with a substantial number of new debuts and a chance to see some existing favourites, too.

What you missed at the Detroit auto show

Press days for the 2014 Detroit auto show wrapped up on Tuesday, and the sum total was more big reveals than we can shake a stick shift at. Production cars included the Ford F-150, Corvette Z06, BMW M3 and M4, Subaru WRX STI and the Porsche 911 Targa, while on the concept front we saw the Toyota FT-1, Nissan Sport Sedan and Kia GT4 Stinger just to name a few. Here are some of our favorites, in no particular order.

VW Beetle Dune at the Detroit auto show

Of all the production-leaning concept vehicles at the Detroit auto show, the Volkswagen Beetle Dune's the sort of flight of fancy nobody was looking for. Nissan's Sport Sedan heralds the look of the next Maxima, which will likely trickle down in some way to future Altimas, Sentras and Versas. It looks as if Nissan will put one of its techno-retro RWD IDx concepts into production.

Here are the automobile ads of the year

The One Club made its way back to the 2014 Detroit auto show, naming the top automotive ads across five different categories: online video, broadcast television commercials, interactive, experiential, and print/outdoor. The top ads were presented Tuesday. Let's take a look at those that came out on top.

Mercedes-Benz to use Maybach name for range-topping S-class

Mercedes-Benz will be bringing back the Maybach name for the extra-long-wheelbase S-class, which is expected to go on sale by the end of this year. This version of the S-class will be a third bodystyle (out of an eventual total of four), and will be positioned above the V12-powered S600 and its AMG siblings. The Maybach-branded Mercedes-Benz personal limousine will essentially be a replacement for the Maybach 62, and will feature an entirely reworked rear section with new rectangular rear doors and a new rear passenger compartment with first-class seating.

New Lexus RC F unveiled at Detroit

Lexus has confirmed the first details of a new RC F high performance model at its debut at the Detroit Motor Show 2014. Driven by what’s said to be the most powerful 5.0-litre V8 ever offered by Lexus, the RC F is set to top the new RC coupe range that was unveiled at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show last November. A spiritual successor to the old Lexus IS F, the RC F will become the first rival to challenge the new BMW M4 later this year.

Stunning classics at the inaugural Arizona Concours

While the rest of the country dug out from the Polar Vortex, Phoenix was applying SPF30, adjusting its straw boater hat and parking a collection of beautiful cars on the lawn of its historic Biltmore hotel. The inaugural Arizona Concours launched Jan. 12 and featured 76 beautiful cars spread out on the Arizona Biltmore's perfectly manicured lawn.

EyesOn Design Awards 2014 presented in Detroit

The winners of the EyesOn Design Awards have been announced in COBO Hall at the end of the second press day of the 2014 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. More than 30 competition judges, who are active or retired heads of design at automotive manufacturers and chairs of transportation design education programs, declared the Ford Mustang the ‘Best Production Car'. The 2015 model, relaunched in time for the model's upcoming 50-year anniversary, is instantly recognizable as a Mustang, retaining similar proportions to the outgoing model but with a more sculpted and sophisticated silhouette.

A closer look at the 2015 BMW M3 sedan and M4 coupe: Turbocharged performance is gonna cost you

By the time the 2015 BMW M3 sedan and M4 coupe were revealed at the Detroit auto show, we already knew a lot about what to expect from the Roundel's newest generation of high-performance driving machines. It was no secret, for example, that the new M3 sedan and its two-door counterpart, the M4, will be down two cylinders and a few hundred pounds from their predecessors. Now that we've had a chance to get a look at the cars in production trim, here's a closer look at what's under all the aggressively vented fascias, spoilers and M badges.

Used car buyers warned against friends' advice

USED CAR buyers are being cautioned against taking advice from friends when buying their next car. Many misconceptions are passed on by well-meaning friends and, says used car history experts at HPI, this can lead to buyers losing money on their next car. There are five myths that many used buyers believe, says HPI.

Tesla set for record sales result

Innovative electric carmaker Tesla is set to announce that the last quarter of 2013 was the most successful for sales in the company’s history. As a young company with a well-respected product this doesn’t sound too surprising – until you learn that the anticipated results are said to be 20% better than Tesla had predicted. On Bing: see pictures of the Tesla Model S Find out how much a used Tesla costs on Auto Trader Tesla says it sold and delivered nearly 6,900 vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2013 – which is “approximately 20%” more than prior guidance.

Why the Subaru WRX STi is making a UK comeback

After a short hiatus, the Subaru WRX STi (once known as the Impreza) is coming back to the UK. The re-introduction was confirmed at the new car’s unveiling at the 2014 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit – and it’s great news for us Brits. When the Subaru WRX STi goes on sale in the UK later this year it will cost £28,995 – that’s a whopping £4,000 less than its predecessor.