Mercury Mariner 60hp Cowling Engine Cover on 2040-parts.com

Design Contest: Automotive design community gathers for annual design awards party in Paris

More than 300 senior members of the automotive design community will be attending the Interior Motives Design Awards 2004 ceremony to be held at Le Cab, Paris on 24 September, during the Paris Motor Show. Among the special guests will be the Interior Motives Design Awards 2004 judges:- Olivier Boulay, Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Japan- Guy Burgoyne, Volvo Cars- Simon Cox, GM Advanced Design UK- Bill Fluharty, Johnson Controls, Inc- Ulrich Lammel, Volkswagen AG- Steve Lewis, SEAT Cars- Sarah Maynard, Aston Martin Lagonda- Justyn Norek, I.DE.A Institute- Roberto Piatti, Stile Bertone- Marek Reichman, Ford Motor Company- Rus Shafer, Intier Automotive- Andreas Wlasak, Faurecia The Interior Motives Design Awards 2004 received over 200 entries from more than 31 countries and 47 design colleges, further establishing itself as a global competition. Attendees will have the chance to meet finalists from the world's top transportation and industrial design courses, as well as the awards' judging panel.

Audi rolls out A3 lineup at the Los Angeles auto show

There's something about German automakers and model proliferation—it seems that if there is a niche to be filled, no matter how vanishingly small, a vehicle will be devised to fill it. If no niche is extant, they'll simply invent one, which is how we wound up with the unprompted X6. Audi's new A3 lineup, which debuted at the Los Angeles auto show and will begin its 18 month-long North American rollout spring 2014, seems incredibly rational by comparison.

Toyota GT86 Convertible (the Toyota FT-86 Concept) at Tokyo with roof up

The Toyota FT-86 Open Concept (pictured) gets a roof and new paint job for Tokyo 2013 The Toyota FT-86 Open Concept (effectively a roadster version of the GT86) made an appearance earlier this year at the Geneva Motor Show, and now Toyota are lining up a new version of the FT-86 for their home show in Tokyo. The FT-86 Open may be billed as a concept, but it’s clear Toyota are keen to see the GT86 Roadster go in to production, and the latest FT-86 for Tokyo demonstrates that with a new paint job and the first views of the fabric roof in place. Complementing the FT-86′s new red paint job it gets door handles, windscreen surround and door mirrors in contrasting grey and the interior gets a set of red carpets.