Sports Parts Inc Front Bumper - Black - Sm-12516 on 2040-parts.com

India's National Institute of Design

The National Institute of Design (NID) in Ahmedabad is hidden in the greenery behind an iron gate in the crowded streets of the biggest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. There are no car manufacturers here, nor is there any particular tradition of design in general. But for almost half a century this has been the main school to enrol in if you want to become a car designer in India.

Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera Disco Volante – a new take on the Alfa 8C

The Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera Disco Volante Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera Disco Volante is a homage to the 1952 Alfa Romeo Disco Volante, based on the Alfa 8C and heading to Geneva. The Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera Disco Volante – which is quite a mouthful – is a concept put together by Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera for this year’s Geneva Motor Show and is a modern take on the 1952 Alfa Romeo Disco Volante, itself a Touring concept based on the Alfa 1900. This time Carrozzeria Touring has taken a modern Alfa as a platform for its creation, the Alfa Romeo 8C, and created a new body in hand crafted aluminium with carbon fibre elements, but under the skin it looks like the 8C stays intact.

Demise of kei cars on the horizon?

The kei car has long been a staple of the Japanese automobile industry and its car culture. Too diminutive for Western markets, the tiny cars and trucks are a strong influencer of design in Japan. Now, as The New York Times reports, the Japanese government has hit kei cars with increases in sales tax, gasoline prices and has reduced the kei car tax break introduced to make the cars popular in the first place by 50 percent.