Toyota Camry Hybrid Computer 89991-33013 on 2040-parts.com

2012 Mini roadster revealed

Mini has revealed the definitive production version of its 2012 roadster. Sister car to the recently introduced coupe, alongside which it will be built at Mini's Oxford plant in England, the compact two-seater arrives a little more than two years after it was first shown in lightly veiled concept car guise at the 2009 Frankfurt motor show. Rival to the enduring Mazda Miata, the Mini roadster is planned to make its public debut at the Detroit auto show in January prior to going on sale in North America in mid-2012.

Driving the Chevy Volt isn't special, and that's good

We've had our first taste of the drive system under development for General Motors' pioneering Chevrolet Volt, piloting a test mule based on the Chevrolet Cruze at the company's Warren (Mich.) Technical Center, and it left us hungering for more. Yes, it's an electric car, but mostly, it's a car--one you could imagine driving every day without feeling as if you were engaged in a lab experiment. Frank Weber, vehicle line executive for the Volt, gets his nose out of joint if you call the drive system a hybrid.

Scuola Politecnica di Design Milan 2007

Milan, Italy is well known for being a style center, so it's fairly apt that there is a design school based in one of the most fashionable and creative areas of the city. Scuola Politecnica di Design has been molding new designers for over 50 years and has a program specifically devised for students seeking to master the art of transportation design. On June 29th the school held its annual degree show, and Car Design News went to Milan to see what the students in the Masters Course had dreamt up. This year marked the second time that Audi sponsored the course, giving students a brief that consisted of creating "a sporty, small lifestyle car for the 'Generation Mobile'": a small car for young customers living in urban areas that would also be accustomed to using iPods.