Ritchie Lighted Black Compass Model B-51 With Mount 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.

Plug-In 2013 conference plugs along

Every now and then, the electric car industry comes together in a sort of Woodstock-of-the-Watt-Hour to take stock of itself and to exchange ideas, sign contracts and maybe have a beer. The most recent parliament of the plug-in was last week in San Diego at an annual industry event known as Plug-In 2013, although obviously they change the year in the title as necessary. Why keep gathering?

McLaren gives MP4-12C power and gadget upgrade

McLaren has announced a surprise package of upgrades which will be offered to existing owners of its MP4-12C supercar, free of charge. Owners will benefit from more power, a tunable engine noise and fewer foibles - yes, the tricky swipe-to-enter door handles are banished for good. So what exactly has changed on the McLaren MP4-12C for 2013?