Honda Trx 250 Recon Front Rack on 2040-parts.com

New car sales accelerate again

NEW CAR SALES could be back to pre-recession levels by the end of this year after a good start to 2014. Latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show there were 176,820 new vehicles registered in April - an 8.2% rise on the same month last year. Last month's figure took the total for the year so far to 864,942 - a 12.5% increase on the first four months of 2013.

Volvo XC90 (2015)

After three highly-regarded concept cars and a rather extended gestation period, the first of the new generation of Volvo cars, the XC90 SUV, has been unveiled. Designed – at least latterly – under the auspices of Thomas Ingenlath, who joined the sole remaining Swedish brand from VW as its design director in March 2012, the new Volvo XC90 is the first to sit on the company's new, modular SPA platform (Scalable Product Architecture, if you're interested). This allows more freedom in terms of proportions, with a particularly generous axle-to-dashboard distance.

Jaguar 'villainy' ad banned

A SECOND JAGUAR ad has been banned in as many months for promoting speed and unsafe driving. The video on Jaguar Land Rover's YouTube channel was titled The Art Of Villainy and featured actor Tom Hiddleston playing a suave villain while driving a Jaguar F-Type in an underground car park and on a public road. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received a complaint that the ad was socially irresponsible because it featured and encouraged unsafe driving.