2014 Fiat 500 UK price and specs – costs from £10,160

The 2014 Fiat 500 arrives in the UK It’s hard to update a car that’s already a pastiche of an original, so Fiat has been very cautious with the updates for the Fiat 500 for 2014, although there are some welcome improvements. One modern change is the arrival of a 7″ TFT digital instrument display – standard on the 500S and 500 CULT and optional on 500 Lounge versions – which does a good job of mimicking the 500′s analogue instruments but with a central section that can be configured to display stuff like trip information and allows for more detailed information on everything from gear shifts to SatNav info (where specced). The biggest mechanical update comes with the arrival of a 104bhp version of the 0.9 litre TwinAir engine promising 0-62mph in 10 seconds (and it’ll feel a lot quicker) and official economy of 67.3mpg (you’ll get a lot less).

Scuola Politecnica di Design and Volkswagen offer scholarships for Transportation and Car Design Masters

The Scuola Politecnica di Design and Volkswagen Group Design are offering eight scholarships for this year's Transportation and Car Design Master's program, which starts on 21 October. Aspiring designers who hold a degree in transportation design, car design or equivalent have the chance to be awarded partial and full-fee tuition waivers should they impress the examination board. The selection is based on a portfolio evaluation, an interview and the submission of a project set by the examination board to test the candidate's conceptual and technical abilities.

GM fires engineers, executives after ignition switch recall probe

Update: New story containing new information, additional details of terminations added. General Motors has dismissed 15 employees, including at least eight executives, after an internal investigation found “a pattern of incompetence and neglect” that led to 11 years of delays in recalling millions of cars for a fatal defect, CEO Mary Barra said today. Barra promised that the company would address future safety issues far differently, warning employees that failing to report risks would make them “part of the problem” and even inviting them to contact her directly if they couldn't get potential defects addressed themselves.