on 2040-parts.com

Concept Car of the Week: Vauxhall VX Lightning

Both Ford and Vauxhall celebrated their 100-year anniversaries in 2003, but despite much of the attention being focused on the American giant, GM's UK subsidiary unveiling its own birthday present: the VX Lightning. Revealed at the Dorchester Hotel in London in May, the Vauxhall Lightning concept was a joint project between the GM North America (GMNA) Advanced Design Studio in England and the Opel/Vauxhall Design Center in Rüsslesheim, Germany. The Vauxhall ‘V' brand motif is a recurring theme throughout the car, despite the company's relative lack of global recognition.

Suzuki Kizashi duo

The New York Auto Show played host to a duo of concepts from Suzuki. The polar opposite Kizashi concepts from the brand take in an eco-minded approach as well as a hardcore turbocharged, race inspired model. The Ecocharge adopts the necessary virginal white hue, blue lighting and smaller diameter wheels to cement the fact it is environmentally friendly.

China to boost electric cars with 30% Government EV fleet

The BYD E6 EV (pictured) will benefit from China’s push on EVs The UK government has just announced its commitment to use electric cars for its own vehicles in an effort to boost the take-up of EVs, but China is going even further. China has ordered government officials to start buying electric cars (that means BEVs, plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell cars) in a big way, with instructions that 30 per cent of government cars must fall in to the ‘New Energy’ category by 2017, and an even higher percentage going forward. The aim is to cut pollution, and China expects to have 5 million New Energy cars on the road by 2020 and it is urging it government agencies and some city governments to start buying New Energy vehicles from Chinese makers like BYD and SDAIC, but also instructing them to build more charging stations and supporting infrastructure.