Blog on 2040Parts

Listen again to Autodesk’s Alias AutoStudio 2015 webinar

Autodesk introduced its latest Alias AutoStudio 2015 software in a webinar held on 25 June. Here's your chance to listen again. The webinar covered the new features in Alias AutoStudio, including its extended workflow capabilities that enhance the software's already extensive set of sketching, modeling, visualization, and analysis tools for the entire vehicle design process.

Caterham sells F1 team

Caterham The Caterham Formula 1 team has been sold to a consortium of Swiss and Middle-Eastern investors following a poor season so far in 2014. Rumours that Caterham would cut its losses have been rife, since team founder Tony Fernandes threatened to quit if things didn't improve this year. The team is currently bottom in the championship and Fernandes hinted of an exit last week, when he tweeted “F1 hasn't worked, but love Caterham Cars.” Graham Macdonald, Caterham Group CEO: “Firstly I want to thank everyone who was involved in the F1 team for all their hard work and dedication since the team’s first days in 2009.

Two thirds back young driver restrictions

TWO THIRDS of the public would like to see restrictions placed on recently qualified young drivers, according to an RAC Foundation survey. Even two in five young drivers would back a form of graduated licensing, the poll found. Those surveyed were asked whether restrictions, possibly lasting 12 months after a driving test has been passed, should be placed on drivers aged 24 or under.

New Toyota Yaris Facelift price & spec – costs from £10,995

New Toyota Yaris Facelift price & spec – costs from £10,995 The 2014 Toyota Yaris has been given a bit of a facelift, as we reported back in April, and now, with the new Yaris going on sale, Toyota has worked out what the Yaris will offer for your money. The cosmetic changes are most noticeable on the front with a new cross-shape nose and upper and lower grills, diffuser and new LED lights at the back and a higher quality interior. Engine choices remain the 1.0 and 1.33 petrol engines, the 1.4 D-4D diesel and, of course, the 1.5 VVT-i Hybrid, with Active and Icon treim carrying over and Sport and Excel trims added (the Yaris Hybrid can only be had with Icon and Excel trim).

Caterham F1 team sold: 'F1 hasn't worked' - Fernandes

Tony Fernandes today sold his struggling Caterham F1 team By John Mahoney Motor Industry 02 July 2014 16:04 Caterham Group has announced it’s sold Caterham F1 to a consortium of Swiss and Middle Eastern investors. Caterham cars is not part of the sale. In a statement issued today, the sale of the team was said to allow the Caterham Group to focus on its ‘core activities’ that include the British car maker.

Range Rover Sport SVR at Goodwood – more SVR models on the way from JLR

Range Rover Sport SVR on the hillclimb at Goodwood Last week, on the run-up to the 2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed, Land Rover revealed the most powerful road car they’ve ever created – the Range Rover Sport SVR. The Sport SVR comes with the 5.0 litre V8 Supercharged petrol engine from cars like the Jaguar XFR-S and XJR, delivering 542bhp and the promise of performance figures that come within shouting distance of the Porsche Cayenne Turbo, complete with a thunderous V8 soundtrack and most of its off-road abilities intact. But after speculating on what Land Rover would call their range topping Sport – R, RS, SO or something else – that turned in to ‘something else’ with the arrival of a new JLR moniker – SVR.

To Infiniti and beyond at Goodwood

LUXURY Japanese car maker Infiniti gave the UK public something to savour at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, with a high-octane combination of well-known faces and high-speed timed runs up the famous hill-climb. Christian Horner, team principal of Formula One team Red Bull, took turns at the wheel of the 568-horspower Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge prototype, sharing driving duties with professional racer Sébastien Buemi. Members of the public queued for access to the road-going Q50 range, which was also on offer for hill-driving duties, and some were even treated to a turn in the FX Vettel Edition: a chunky SUV with handling and performance tuned with the direct input of four-time F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel.

70ft tall car juggling robot planned

BugJuggler When it comes to things we would like to see in our lifetime, a 70ft-tall robot juggling cars is most definitely one of them. So let’s all give this crazy group of ex-NASA and James Bond stunt engineers a big round of applause, because that’s exactly what they are trying to achieve. The robot is called the BugJuggler, and as yet it’s just a figment of some very over-active imaginations.

UK drivers disinterested in electric cars

DRIVERS in the UK are not interested in electric cars, with only 5% stating they would think about buying one, according to new research. A further 14% of drivers say they have considered an electric car but rejected and bought a petrol, diesel or hybrid car instead. More than half (56%) of British drivers said they had not even thought about an electric car as a possible replacement for their existing vehicle.

Alpine Celebration At French Historic Endurance Event

RENAULT will be out in force at this weekend’s Le Mans Classic. The historic alternative to the highly charged modern Le Mans 24-hour endurance race has proven popular with fans, and the French car maker will be celebrating its Alpine sub-brand by running three cars. This seventh running of the classic race will see an Alpine M65, Alpine-Renault A110 and Alpine-Renault A443 take to the famous circuit.

Lotus fights back with three-year warranty and servicing deal

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 02 July 2014 12:55 Lotus has this month launched a three-year warranty and servicing deal for all new Elise, Exige and Evora models. The move is designed to kickstart interest in the brand, which is suffering a 9% slump in sales in 2014 year to date. Lotus has sold just 73 cars in the United Kingdom over the first five months of the year.

Yaris To Launch This Summer Bursting With Kit

JAPANESE car maker Toyota is launching its new Yaris supermini this summer, and hopes to broaden the car’s appeal with a revised range. The firm is offering more choice, more equipment options and a wealth of advanced features for on-board comfort, communications, safety and style as it launches the Yaris into an increasingly competitive market sector. Established Active and Icon grades are joined by new Sport and Excel trims.

Driver prefer atlas to sat-nav

SATELLITE NAVIGATION may have become an integral part of many drivers’ daily routine, three quarters of the UK’s motorists (76%) say they still prefer to use a road atlas to plan journeys. Drivers in a survey by the AA said they found an atlas more useful to give an overview of a journey. While satellite navigation systems are useful, a further 65% of drivers said they still use an atlas to check the sat-nav is selecting the best route.

Maserati Wins Style Shoot-Out At 2014 Goodwood Festival Of Speed

MULTIPLE world rally winner Sebastien Loeb wasn’t the one to leave Goodwood’s Festival of Speed smiling. And while he might have been the fastest up the hill, he wasn’t judged ‘best in show’. That title went to a particular Maserati A6 CGS Berlinetta, which was entered in the Festival’s traditional ‘style-et-luxe’ concours d’elegance event.

12 reasons why we love Maserati: 100 years of the Trident

When Alfieri Maserati opened his first shop, three of his brothers joined immediately. Mario wasn’t a fan of engines, but he could draw. He based Maserati's famous Trident logo on the fountain of Neptune in Bologna’s Piazza Maggiore.

DVLA clamps down on illegal foreign cars

Getty Images A DVLA clampdown on illegal foreign-registered cars is proving to be a success, with 237 vehicles targeted over the last two months. Cars can legally be used on British roads with foreign plates for a maximum of six months before they need to display a UK registration. Drivers who fail to do this will face a fine based on the cost of road tax for the period beyond this time.

CAR interviews new Ford CEO Mark Fields (2014)

Mark Fields, Ford's new chief executive officer and president of Ford from 1 July 2014 By Phil McNamara Motor Industry 01 July 2014 12:32 Mark Fields took over as CEO of Ford on 1 July 2014, replacing Alan Mulally. CAR magazine caught up with Fields shortly before he took over as the new Ford boss to find out what drives him – and spoke about his time running the now-defunct Premier Automotive Group, including stints overseeing Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Mazda. It’s illuminating reading: Fields tells us how Ford considered basing Land Rovers on Ford SUVs and reveals how Ford found buyers for the Premier Automotive Group.

MG3 Trophy Championship Concept previews MG Hot Hatch

MG3 Trophy Championship Concept (pictured) previews a future MG Hot Hatch The revival of MG so far has been about delivering rather prosaic Chinese cars given a gloss of credibility with and MG badge. But if MG are to succeed they really need to use some of the heritage of MG to grab buyers attention. That probably means a credible hot hatch rather than a traditional MG Roadster, so the arrival of the MG3 Trophy Championship Concept at MG’s 90th birthday celebrations at the weekend is perhaps a good pointer of the sort of direction we could see from MG in the coming years.

54,000 learner drivers have points

54,000 LEARNER DRIVERS have received penalty points on their licences before even passing the driving test. This equates to 22% of all learner drivers on the road and the majority (60%) are for speeding offences. Other common causes for learner drivers to accumulate penalty points on their provisional licence include jumping a red light (43%), driving without insurance (33% and driving carelessly (15%).

Driven: Toyota Aygo (2014)

When the original Aygo launched in 2005, it shared the A-segment with nine rivals, including its sister cars, the Citroën C1 and Peugeot 107. In 2014, there are 20 small city cars on the European market, placing extra pressure on the Aygo's designers to ensure it offers something unique and competitive. But while the design rethink needs to move the car forward, pragmatism dictates that a truly successful reinvention will ensure the Aygo also remains integrated with Toyota's line-up; it's one of the top sellers in Toyota's European portfolio, and a proven driver of brand loyalty.

General Motors recalls another 8.4m cars

Associated Press General Motors has recalled a further 8.4 million cars as part of an ongoing investigation into a fault that causes the ignition key to turn unintentionally. Almost 30m cars across the US, Canada and Mexico have now been recalled by General Motors in 2014. Approximately 3,500 people are making claims for death or injury The recalls affect cars made as far back as 1997, but the American car maker insists that there is no conclusive evidence that faults with the cars caused crashes involving the vehicles.

Car Mechanic Simulator 2014

Just to prove it really does take all sorts, you can in fact actually buy a Car Mechanic Simulator computer game. Which is out now as the 2014 version, no less. Fixing a real car when it breaks down is tiresome enough for most of us – choosing to repair one virtually in our own spare time sounds like the stuff that minds are boggled with.

Five-Door Mini Hatch Is Go

BMW HAS announced that production of the long awaited five-door Mini Hatch has started, signaling the next phase in the car maker’s £750 million investment programme across its UK production facilities from 2011 to 2015. The car comes hot on the heels of the new Mini Hatch, which was launched in November. The new five-door version will go on sale in the autumn.

New MINI 5-door Hatch starts rolling off the production line in Oxford

New MINI 5-door Hatch starts rolling off the production line in Oxford MINi are wasting no time in getting the new 5-door MINI Hatch in to production following its reveal at the start of June, with the firs 5-door MINIs already rolling off the production line at MINI’s Oxford Plant. The five-door MINI is the second MINI model to be built off BMW’s new UKL 1 platform – the new MIN I being the first – with the platform stretched to give the five-door an extra 72mm in it wheelbase, 15mm extra headroom and enough length to add a pair of (small) back doors). And unlike the three-door Hatch, the new five-door Hatch will be available with a full suite of models from the off, with the SD Cooper included in the range from launch as well as the  Cooper, Cooper D and Cooper S.

Tour de France improve cycle safety

THE TOUR DE FRANCE, which starts in Yorkshire for the 2014 race, has helped increase cycle safety awareness by 90%. Cyclists report car drivers are being more patient and giving them more space on the road in the build-up to the biggest cycling race in the world. A survey by ColinAppleyard.com found 90% of drivers say they are more of cyclist because of Le Tour, while 73% of drivers said they are now more careful around cyclists.The arrival of the Tour de France has also made 10% of drivers consider buying a bike.

Third make-up-inspired Citroen DS3 revealed

THERE'S not a lot that the two disciplines of circuit racing and applying make-up have in common, but Citroen and Benefit decided to change all that ahead of this weekend's Silverstone Grand Prix. The cheeky French car brand has introduced the third in its line-up of DS3 special edition models built using inspiration from the famous cosmetics label. This new DS3 DSign Noire, inspired by a new eyeliner from Benefit, took part in a unique 'Fast & Fabulous' race against its two designer siblings at the home of British Formula One, where racers and beauty bloggers had to complete a lap of the track in the DSign Noire, the DSign by Benefit and the Dstyle by Benefit.

Motorway Service Station Fuel 'Too Pricey'

IT WOULD appear that cash-strapped drivers have had their fill of motorway service station fuel – that’s according to a survey conducted by research company Viewsbank. Almost all (98%) of motorists canvassed reckon motorway petrol and diesel is too pricey, with 60% saying they never buy it. Based on responses from 1,030 drivers, the poll also showed that 28% always fill up before going on a motorway and 5% always leave the motorway to find cheaper fuel elsewhere.

Audi RS6 Avant Plus outed by Audi UK

Audi RS6 Avant Plus outed by Audi UK The Audi RS6 Avant is, in many way, the pick of the ‘Uber’ estate cars from Germany. True, it’s eschewed its monster V10 for a 4.0 litre V8 turbo in its latest iteration, but in the process it’s become a more complete car which offers great dynamics as well as a mountain of power and torque, judiciously employed through Audi’s quattro 4WD. But as Stephan Reil, Audi Quattro Division boss, said back in January, Audi are planning an even more powerful ‘Plus’ version of the RS6 Avant with around 600bhp to take on cars like the Mercedes E63 AMG S which also offers 4WD (at least in LHD markets) and 577bhp.

Stratospheric price for Volkswagen's 'future car'

IF YOU want tomorrow's car today, you're going to have to pay for it. Volkswagen has announced that the ultra-futuristic XL1 will sell in the UK for more than £98,000. The first XL1 was delivered to a German customer in May, with UK buyers now lined up to take a share of the 200 that are due to be built.

Volkswagen XL1 ‘Super’ Hybrid heading for the UK – costs £98,515

The Volkswagen XL1 ‘Super’ Hybrid (pictured) costs £98,515 in the UK VW announced a while back that their ‘super’ hybrid XL1 was going in to limited production, although they didn’t confirm a price for being super green. But now the first XL1 has already been delivered in Germany, Volkswagen has confirmed a chunk of the 200 run – thought to be between 20 and 30 cars – will be making their way to the UK and will cost £98,515. For almost £100k, there are plenty of options bordering on supercar, but the XL1 is ‘super’ in a different way, and if extreme economy and a design that looks like something imagined as a car of the future in Hollywood Sci-Fi films of the 1930s floats your boat, the XL1 could be the car you’re looking for.