Standard Motor Products Us280 Ignition Switch on 2040-parts.com

Spyker D8 SUV back in 2014 – but when did it become mid-engined?!

Apparently, the Spyker D8 SUV (pictured) will somehow be mid-engined It’s no surprise that Spyker are heading to the 2014 Geneva Motor Show with a ‘new’ version of their ‘Super SUV’ D8 Peking-Paris. That’s because Victor Muller managed to get Youngman to invest €25 million in the D8 project last year (it’s Victor’s speciality) with the plan being to finally take the Spyker SUV closer to a market launch in time to take on the new ‘Super SUVs’ from the likes of Bentley and Lamborghini. But what is a surprise is what Autocar claim Victor said to them about the D8.

Tesla Model S first EV to earn high praise from Consumer Reports

Tesla Motors Inc.'s all-electric Model S sports car received the highest score in Consumer Reports' ratings -- a 99 out of 100 -- along with widespread plaudits from the magazine's automotive testing staff. The magazine said the $89,650 EV it tested "performed better, or just as well overall, as any other vehicle -- of any kind -- ever tested by Consumer Reports." The last vehicle to achieve a score of 99 in the magazine's testing was the Lexus LS 460L, which was tested in 2007. The Model S, which went on sale in 2012, also marks the first time any electric vehicle has earned a score that high, the magazine said Thursday.

Art Center BMW/Exa project

There's a new sponsored project that is just getting under way at Art Center College of Design, the likes of which hasn't been seen in a very long time - if at all. The school's Transportation Design department has helped bring together BMW with Exa Corporation, a Boston-based virtual aerodynamic simulation company, and has tasked the students to re-design the current BMW X5 Sports Activity Vehicle with the hope of dramatically increasing its aerodynamic efficiency while still retaining the BMW flagship SAV design language. This brief is quite timely in the context of the industry's ongoing focus with sustainability and strikes at the core of the BMW Group's long term energy strategy known as the concept of Efficient Dynamics.