2002 Subaru Forester 2.5x on 2040-parts.com

UK car sales reach six-year high

Ford New car sales have reached their highest level since 2007, says the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Figures for 2013 show an increase in registrations of 10.8% compared with the previous year, to 2,264,737 - most of which was driven by growth in the private car market. Ford dominated the best-seller list, with the Fiesta and Focus winning 200,000 sales between them The UK market’s performance easily outstripped that of the European Union as a whole, with an increase of 9.9% for the 11 months to November compared with a drop of 2.7% for the EU region.

TVR Griffith gathering set for June 24-26 at Mid-Ohio

If our story last month on the TVR Griffith whet your appetite for these rare Brits, set your nav system for the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, and be there June 24-26. The Griffith Motorcar Club International will be hosting Richard “Dick” Monnich, the first TVR importer in the United States and the catalyst for the Ford 289-powered TVR Griffith, as part of the fifth-annual Gathering of Griffiths & TVRs. Event organizer and former Griffith factory test driver Mike Mooney claims all three Griffith body styles will be present, along with a British-produced TVR 500.

Center stack is new high-stakes battleground; showdown with safety regulators looms

For auto suppliers and gadget companies eager to get a piece of the auto industry, the hottest chunk of vehicle real estate now is the center stack. That corridor of interior space, running from the driver's right hip up through the center of the cockpit to the bottom of the windshield, has become a California gold rush of opportunity. But it is less so for traditional suppliers of molded plastics, cables, levers, buttons and radios.