Ski Rubber Bumper 08-403 08-403 on 2040-parts.com

Mazda prices 2012 Mazda5 from $19,990

Mazda will sell its six-passenger 2012 Mazda5 van for a base price of $19,990, including shipping, when it goes on sale in January. The 2012 Mazda5, which Mazda calls a multi-activity vehicle, saw its North American debut at the Los Angeles auto show earlier this month. Mazda increased the base price by $730 compared to the 2010 Mazda5.

New dynamic 3D button touchscreen tech

A pioneering new technology allows touchscreens to ‘grow’ dynamic buttons from flat surfaces. The new technology, developed by US company Tactus Technology, uses minute channels within the screen to siphon liquid into button shaped cavities that then rise when pressed, alleviating some of the muscle-memory and distraction issues often leveled at touchscreens. Craig Ciesla, CEO of Tactus Technology, says that it was his desire to merge the elegance of the iPhone's user interface with the tactility of Blackberry buttons that led to the technology's development.

Local Motors XC2V Competition

Local Motors, producer of the Rally Fighter, has teamed up with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to host a design contest. The partnership, which was made possible within the Adaptive Vehicle Makes initiative, aims to create an Experimental Crowd-derived Combat-support Vehicle (XC2V), exploring the potential of a crowd-sourced design for military use. The initiative to develop a crowd-derived vehicle body design for the US military was created in an effort to decrease the time and developmental costs associated with creating niche military vehicles.