1968-69 Ford Torino Fairlane Door Handle Trim Panel on 2040-parts.com

Vauxhall Ampera is 2012 European Car of the Year

The Opel/Vauxhall Ampera has been crowned European Car of the Year for 2012. The winner was announced today at a ceremony at the 2012 Geneva motor show. The votes of the 59 jurors from 23 European countries ranked the Ampera first, from a shortlist comprising Citroen DS5, Fiat Panda, Ford Focus, Opel/Vauxhall Ampera/Chevrolet Volt, Range Rover Evoque, Toyota Yaris and Volkswagen Up.

Le Mans 2014 in pictures

This weekend (14-15 June) sees the start of the 82nd running of the Le Mans 24-hour race, one of the most gruelling and prestigious events on the sportscar calendar. It's also something of a pilgrimage for tens of thousands of Brits, and we'll be joining them to bring you the full flavour of what amounts to a heady mix of summer festival and motor race. Click the image above to join us on our Le Mans road trip

New Nissan Micra loses ground in Europe over quality issues and no diesel option

Nissan Micra Sales fall in Europe Nissan trumpeted the new Micra as its ‘Global Compact Car’ in the run-up to its reveal at Geneva last year. And by ‘Global’ they meant ‘Produced in Emerging Markets’. Which is a big change from the last generation Micra which was produced in Sunderland, but a move that seemed to make sense in a world where small cars in emerging markets are a priority, and where cost of production is much lower.