Bmw Genuine M Business Card Case on 2040-parts.com

1975 JC Whitney catalog: A bonanza of aftermarket Volkswagen goodies

Back before there was the Internet, or even big car-parts chain stores, there was the JC Whitney catalog. Printed on cheap, pulpy paper and featuring tens of thousands of tiny, hand-drawn illustrations, these thick books gave me many hours of enjoyment in the early 1980s, as I fantasized about how I'd modify my incredibly sketchy and hooptified '58 Beetle. Now I've picked up a 1975 JC Whitney catalog, and the Volkswagen section is even better than I remembered!

Designed in Italy, Engineered in China

"The soul of our designing is in Italy," said Silvio Petro Angori, CEO of Italian design house Pininfarina S.p.A. "We will do all styling in Italy – we will not do that in China." But in order to cater to the growing number of contracts from Chinese automakers, Pininfarina will soon begin engineering and product development in China with a center in Shanghai's suburb of Anting. Pininfarina has been working with Chinese automakers since 1996.

BMW i3 revealed: The BMW Megacity lives

BMW i3 Revealed - on sale in 2013 The BMW i8 – also revealed today –  may be BMW’s answer to a supercar with a conscience for the 21st century, but the other end of the scale is the BMW solution to city mobility – the BMW i3. Known as the Megacity Vehicle – at least until BMW gave us all the detail of the i3 and i8 a few months ago – the BMW i3 is an upright box with a choice of pure electric or range-extender powertrains and is – in size – somewhere between the MINI and the current 1-Series. Just like the i8, the BMW i3 has a predominantly aluminium chassis and a body made of CFRP so it’s reasonably light for an EV (1270kg) and should be nimble thanks to its low centre of gravity which, just like the i8, is due to its batteries and the other heavy stuff sitting low down.