Nos Nash Transmission Low Reverse Gear 1941 - 1948 on 2040-parts.com

Kia Rio (2011): first sketches of new supermini

It never rains, it pours in Kiaworld, it seems. Not long after showing us the new Kia Picanto city car last week and the KV7 concept car at this week's 2011 Detroit auto show, today Kia publishes these first design sketches of the new Rio. It's Kia's supermini to compete with the likes of the Ford Fiesta, Vauxhall Corsa and VW Polo.

Renault's future performance models

By Richard Yarrow Motor Industry 24 April 2008 10:20 There has never been a hot version of the Laguna from Renaultsport – the performance arm of the French car maker – and our advice is don’t hold your breath for one any time soon. With the MkIII Laguna launched last year, the timing would be perfect for the debut of a flagship model on the home turf of the Paris motor show in October 2008. But Patrick Pelata, Renault’s director of product planning, told CAR Online the quality of other super-saloons coupled with environmental concerns meant it wasn’t likely.

Better Place Electric Car visitor centre opens

Better Place have opened a visitor centre in Israel to demonstrate their battery swap technology for electric cars Last October we wrote about a start-up company in Israel – Better Place – that had a new way forward for electric cars by taking the purchase of battery packs out of the equation, and was developing a system for ‘Battery Swap’ stations where electric car owners could drive in and swap their battery pack for a fully-charged one in a few minutes. That story first brought to our attention our favourite quote of last year – by Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn – who said “A hybrid is like a mermaid: if you want a fish, you get a woman; if you want a woman, you get a fish.” Which probably explained why Nissan – and its partner Renault – got involved with Better Place. Better Place aims to address the main concerns of electric car drivers by making the battery packs in electric cars ‘swappable’.