Cyber Helmet on 2040-parts.com

VAT-free Alto offer extended

YOUNG car buyers have some early festive cheer to celebrate, with the announcement that Suzuki has extended its ‘VAT-free’ offer on the cute Alto city car model until the end of the year. The deal effectively takes £1,200 off the list price of the entry-level Alto SZ. That makes the five-door runabout just £5,999 to buy, and with a low deposit of £779 it can be driven away for £99 per month.

MINI miffed at Spy Photos of 2014 MINI Hatch

MINI has released their own ‘Spy’ shot of the 2014 MINI hatch (pictured above) The rise and rise of the internet in recent years has seen the once niche market for spy photos of unreleased cars go mainstream, and whether car makers like it or not they can be sure the moment they take their new pride and joy on the road it will be papped and online. Most unrevealed cars go out testing covered in swirly camouflage and padded add-ons to disguise shape and form, but this week a 2014 MINI hatch was snapped with no disguise at all, and it didn’t look great. It didn’t look great because the photo was taken from such a distance it distorted perspective and made the new MINI look a very odd shape.

Webinars: Dassault Systèmes presents From Concept to Class-A with CATIA

Car Design News hosted From Concept to Class-A with CATIA Icem, a webinar presented by Dassault Systèmes, on May 3, 2011. The aim of this free online seminar was to highlight and display the benefits of using CATIA V6 in creating high quality surfaces. Developing a new industrial product is challenging, especially when you take into account all the factors required to make the financial investment worthwhile.