Sylvania Silverstar Zxe 9006 on 2040-parts.com

Michelin Challenge Design announces 2007 jury

The safety focus of this year's challenge requires designers to consider the vehicle's occupants as well as those who share the road traveling in other vehicles or as pedestrians. Entries will be evaluated for their accident-avoidance, occupant-protection and pedestrian-safety characteristics. Judges are also looking at the commercial viability and overall visual appeal of the work.

Peugeot 308 with 3-Cylinder engine sets new Fuel Economy Record. Sort of.

The new Peugeot 308 managed 99.1mpg in a fuel economy run in Spain Fuel economy records are a bit like official economy figures – they have little relevance in the real world. But that doesn’t stop car makers wanting a few headlines proving just how economical their cars can be, and that’s exactly what Peugeot has done with a fuel economy run in a new 308 fitted with their new 130bhp 1.2-liter PureTech three-cylinder turbo petrol engine. But instead of running the 308 in the real world, Peugeot chose to take their car off to the Almeria circuit in Spain – under the auspices of the UTAC (Union Technique de l’Automobile, Motocycle et Cycle) – to set a new record for fuel economy and distance driven on a full tank.

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.