Vintage B&m 80681 Automatic Shifter Assembly, Z-gate – For Gm Th 350 Project on 2040-parts.com

Concept Car of the Week: Buick Wildcat (1985)

Before the Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas became the capital of obnoxious extravagance, car manufacturers and suppliers saw it as an opportunity to exhibit their latest innovations, giving the public an exciting insight into the future of automobiles. This is when, in 1985, Buick unveiled the totally unexpected Wildcat concept, which broke radically with the brand's stodgy image. Proportionally, the weight is placed forward, with a thin and low tail.

Design Services: Car Menu launched

Within almost every automotive design department throughout the world, their comes a time when a junior designer is dispatched to find a picture of some new model's tail lamp, the side view of a particular class leading competitor or examples of several new cars' colour and trim packages. Whilst looking at the competition is not necessarily a healthy way of finding ideas, it is often essential to demonstrate what is feasible, check in-house proposals are not too derivative, or show how advanced a design theme is relative to the same type of cars on the market. But even if the particular aspect of a car can be found, press packs and magazines typically show cars in the flattering light of an exotic location or being drifted around a corner on opposite lock; rarely are these images particularly useful.

Honda CR-Z (2013): boost button, upped power and prices

Honda's hybrid CR-Z coupe has been given a light re-working, gaining extra power and a sporty boost system. There's also the subtlest of visual makeovers, and a price jump to boot: prices are up between £1830 and £2515 across the range. How much faster is the new Honda CR-Z?