Evinrude / Johnson Ignition Coils ( 18-5181 ) on 2040-parts.com

General Motors Europe opens new Design Center

Being a car designer is often percieved as a glamourous occupation, but few people realise that this typically means working in some of the least inspiring places. Wolfsburg, Detroit and Birmingham are just a few of the locations that are home to some of the largest populations of car designers around the world. GM Europe's location in Russelsheim, Germany is also one of the less glamourous locations but the new design center building opened this week aims to redress the otherwise rather industrial feel of the place where tomorrow's Opels and Saabs are created.

Smart Forvision concept (2011) first official pictures

Smart will show this Fortwo design study at the 2011 Frankfurt motor show. Called – futuristically enough – the Smart Forvision concept car, it's a good stab at what 2014's new Fortwo could look like. It's brimming with the sort of tech designed to keep the Fortwo's eco credentials alive and kicking.

Tata ramps up production of Nano to boost slow sales

Tata is cranking up supply of the Nano in India to counter sluggish sales. Until now, supply has been pretty limited with sales most months struggling to break beyond four figures; hardly the breakthrough expected from the widely hyped cheapest car in the world. A new plant in Sanand recently came on stream and it has a capacity of 250,000 cars a year.