Toyota Corona Rt 80/81/90/100, Hilux Rn 20 Water Pump Repair Kit (japan) (nos)a on 2040-parts.com

The no-show cars: a reader rant on mad concepts

Instigated by Harley Earl at General Motors in the late 30s with the quaintly named Buick Y-Job, show cars, or concept cars, were presented to an excited public eager for new things. As the world recovered from a depression and then a war, these vehicles pointed to a better future that many people believed in, including the people who produced them. And, although many of the concept cars of the 50s, with their Jetsons plexiglass roofs and notional nuclear powered engines seem ludicrous now, in their time they weren’t that cynical.

Show Review: Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2013

Firmly among the top three classic car events in the world – arguably alongside UK's Goodwood Festival of Speed and USA's Pebble Beach – Italy's Villa d'Este is perhaps the most design-led of the three and took place again on the beautiful shores of Lake Como last weekend (24-26 May). Less is more at Villa d'Este, with only 49 classics up for the coveted ‘Best of show' prize and another seven modern concepts vying for a separate award. It's all about quality not quantity.

BMW M3 & M5 M Performance Editions cost £74,080 & £95,140

BMW M3 & M5 M Performance Editions The BMW M3 & M5 M Performance Editions with ‘Frozen’ paint and plenty of toys cost £74,080 & £95,140 respectively. Earlier this week BMW UK teased the lauch of a couple of Limited Edition models – the BMW M M3 Performance Edition and the M5 M Performance Edition – with a couple of short video trailers. But now we have the detail – and the prices.