Daihatsu Mira 2007 Front Left Strut [0050210] on 2040-parts.com

Lexus Design Awards open for entries under the theme 'Senses'

When we visited Milan Design Week earlier this year, the winners of the Lexus Design Award were a particular highlight – refreshingly free from automotive references, the work was in the true spirit of the city's celebrated annual festival. The theme of the 2015 competition is Senses, which opens up the opportunity for designers to explore sight, sound, smell, taste and/or touch. Entrants will be judged by a panel including architect Toyo Ito, curators Paolo Antonelli and Aric Chen, and Lexus president and former head of Toyota design Tokuo Fukuichi.

Project Car Hell, Off-Brand Japanese '80s Hairdryer Edition: I-Mark RS or Cordia Turbo?

Is it a sickness to love weird Japanese sport compacts from the era of Pseudo Echo and Iran-Contra? Cars that nobody but a few scarily obsessed single-interest types would even recognize? It sure is, but not to worry--there's no better reason to hurl yourself headlong into the Lake of Fire that is Project Car Hell.

Alfa MiTo TwinAir arrives

Alfa Romeo has bolted the 875cc TwinAir engine from the Fiat 500 in to the MiTo to produce a congestion charge busting new MiTo. The new Alfa Romeo MiTo TwinAir is a logical move by Alfa to produce a MiTo with green credentials but which still offer a decent drive and a dose of fun. In the Fiat 500, the TwinAir engine is a bit of a hoot, sounding a bit like a cross between a lawnmower and a 2-stroke and with bags of character and lively to boot.