Kawasaki 92055-0110 Ring-o,58x2.5 on 2040-parts.com

BMW DesignworksUSA heads to China

In light of its growth within China, BMW plans to open a DesignworksUSA studio in the country. Building on its studio portfolio of Los Angeles, Munich and Singapore, the Shanghai studio will be added to the repertoire in the second half of 2011. The DesignworksUSA project acts as a 'think-tank' for all of BMW's brands, as well as creating design for clients from diverse industries.

MIT develops self-transforming materials that behave 'like robots without robots'

A cross-disciplinary research lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed a suite of programmable materials, including carbon fiber, printed wood grain, textile composites, rubbers and plastics, that self-transform when exposed to an external stimulus. Director of the Self-Assembly Lab, Skylar Tibbits, presented a TED talk on 4D printing in 2013, where he demonstrated how a flat sheet of material could effectively build itself when exposed to water, like a robot without a robot. Following positive feedback from industries including aviation, automotive and manufacturing, his lab has been working on developing materials that change according to different activation sources, including heat, light, and air pressure, in addition to water – all of which have automotive relevance.

Rolls launches first used-car scheme

By George Barrow Motor Industry 17 July 2007 03:56 Want to save £75,000 on a Rolls-Royce? The company has just launched its first approved used-car scheme at its six UK dealers, called the Rolls-Royce Provenance programme. It’s basically a carbon copy of mainstream approved used schemes, and cars have to meet such stringent standards that Rolls claims selected cars are ‘virtually faultless’.