Mustang 5.0 C-4 Cobra on 2040-parts.com

Mazda appoints Brit Kevin Rice as new European design chief

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 18 August 2014 10:13 Mazda has appointed Kevin Rice as its new European design director to replace the retiring Peter Birtwhistle. Rice joins at a key time for Mazda, which is replacing its model range at a rate of knots. It will show the new 2 supermini at the Paris motor show in October 2014, following the 3 mid-sized hatch and 6 family car which are both less than two years old.

Skoda Yeti, Octavia and Superb Tour de France Special Editions launched

The Skoda Yeti Tour de France (pictured) – just one of three Skoda TdF Specials It’s always nice to have a hook to a limited edition car, and Skoda are hanging their latest limited editions of the Yeti, Octavia and Superb on the Tour de France. The 2014 Tour de France will see its first three stages run in the UK, so Skoda are doing a ‘cycling enthusiast’ version of the Yeti, Superb and Octavia with some ‘le Tour de France’ badges, waterproof covers for the seats and bike wheel bags as well as throwing in a centenary edition of the Rouleur Tour de France book and a chance to win a VIP Tour de France experience. Just 198 examples of each car will be built – that’s the number of entries for this year’s Tour de France – and you can only have one in Red, White or Blue.

Jumpin' Jeeps: Jeep Design and Mopar roll out new treats in Moab

Jeep and Dodge treat the annual Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, Utah, the same way Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Porsche approach the Frankfurt motor show--it is a serious event deserving of its own concepts and visits by top executives. The fact that Moab, perhaps less so than Frankfurt, is also a ton of fun is purely coincidental. So every year, Jeep and sometimes Dodge roll out concepts in Moab to gauge customer interest and to thrill the faithful.