2010 Road Glide Wheels on 2040-parts.com

Used car sales return to pre-recession levels

USED CAR SALES reached 7.1 million units in 2012, on a par with pre-recession levels and a climb of 6.4%, according to a comprehensive market report. The 2013 BCA Report by British Car Auctions valued the used car market a £38.1 billion in 2012, putting it £5.8 billion ahead of the new car market over the same period. In particular sales of younger used cars (0-2 years) increased significantly, rising by 18.6% to 762,000 and reversing a three year trend of falling volumes in this age sector.

Renault Gordini back

The old Clio Renaultsport with a 1965 Renault Gordini 8 I think you’ll probably have to be over 40 – or a Renault nut – to have any knowledge of the Renault Gordini. But you’re soon going to be a bit more knowledgeable if reports that Renault are about to revive the Gordini name are true. There have been rumours for quite a while that Renault want to use the Gordini name on their ‘Sporty’ cars in the same way that BMW has used the Cooper name on MINIs and Fiat the Abarth name.

Honda CR-Z Mugen (2011): the first sketches

This is our first glimpse of the new, Mugen-tweaked Honda CR-Z. Developed by Mugen Euro, the UK-based arm of Honda’s long-standing tuning partner Mugen, this CR-Z features a whole raft of tweaks to turn it into a hot hybrid. As with the previous UK-spec Civic Type R Mugen, this new Mugen model is currently being touted as a one-off prototype, but just as that Civic was then built in limited numbers the same may happen with the CR-Z – and the individual parts may become available as aftermarket accessories too.