Racor Fuel Filter/ Water Seporator on 2040-parts.com

The Future Role of the Vehicle Designer

The vehicle design department at the Royal College of Art hosted the second in a series of five lectures looking at the future of the profession last week. Moving on from the previous week's topic of sustainability, this debate explored the future roles and responsibilities of the vehicle designer. Head of department Dale Harrow began by posing the question "Is it time to rethink – do we still need the car?" Although still relevant, Harrow's ultimate answer to this was that the profession was about to see marked change, with the end to an era where "designers are locked behind closed doors in studios".

Honda Gives You Wings

YOU might be more familiar with its cars and motorcycles, but did you know that Honda also made planes? If boat engines and quad bikes weren’t enough to keep the Japanese firm occupied, it recently embarked on a project to manufacture high-end business jets. With a base in America and more than a decade of research under its belt plus a small fleet of development aircraft, the company has announced that its first customer specification model is almost ready to fly.

Maserati head to India

Maserati Quattroporte will be the big seller in India It’s not a surprise that Maserati has announced it’s going to enter the marketplace in India, very sensibly in partnership with Indian luxury retailer the Shreyans Group, who also import Ferrari. After all, just about every other car maker is rushing headlong to the sub-continent to cash-in on India’s booming economy and Maserati wants a piece of the action. It doesn’t matter whether you’re Tata selling the Nano for a plate of rice and a cow’s udder, or Bugatti wanting a Maharajah’s Palace in exchange for their hypercar, it’s boom time in India at almost every level of consumption.