Kimpex Taillight Lens on 2040-parts.com

Umea Olme Spyder project

While Swedish automaker Saab was going through tumultuous times and Geely was in the process of buying Volvo from Ford, first year MA students in Transportation Design at Sweden's Umea Institute of Design were busy creating a one-off roadster for an independent car maker: the Olme Spyder. Created in collaboration with Ove Bengtsson, an engineer with a personal passion for building his own vehicles, the students were asked to design their own interpretation of a progressive and innovative roadster, developing the concept from a sketch into a full-scale model. Based on an Opel Agila donor car, the concept's 650kg steel monocoque chassis was created by Bengtsson himself to accommodate a mid-mounted engine.

Peugeot HR1 crossover concept car (2010)

This is the new Peugeot HR1, unveiled today at the Paris motor show. It's a small crossover, mixing the best bits of coupe, city runaround and SUV. Sound familiar?

Kia investigates steering issue on the Soul

Kia Motors America and its suppliers are reviewing their manufacturing processes to track down what caused one driver to lose all steering ability in a two-month-old 2010 Kia Soul. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Monday it had opened a preliminary investigation into the issue after it received one complaint from an owner of an almost-new Kia Soul who said the steering shaft decoupled from the steering wheel and then fell onto the driver's side floor in a way that interfered with the brake pedal. The investigation could affect more than 51,000 Kia Soul vehicles, NHTSA said.