Porsche 914 Door Latch Left Driver Side Bomoro Brand 914 531 053 11 on 2040-parts.com

Infiniti G to get Mercedes engine

Infiniti’s volume line, the G series, will get a Mercedes-Benz engine as part the global alliance between Daimler AG and Renault-Nissan, the story AutoWeek blew wide open at the end of March. Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co., said the G will use a Mercedes inline four-cylinder from Daimler to improve fuel economy and cut emissions. He didn’t say when the engine would reach Infiniti production lines or indicate the extent to which it will replace Japanese-made four-cylinder and V6 engines used in the G sedan and coupe.

Ellesmere Port's bid to build Ampera hits snags

By Rob Golding Motor Industry 09 October 2009 15:02 Prime minister Gordon Brown’s personal crusade to get Vauxhall's version of the Chevrolet Volt petrol-electric plug-in hybrid – the Ampera – built in Britain's Ellesmere Port factory in 2012 is a dream delayed, CAR can disclose today.News that the UK Astra plant is the best in Europe, that the Astra's Delta platform will underpin the Ampera, and that Volt will be on US sale from 2010 had been taken to mean that Vauxhall would be churning out the cars in the north west within three years.But the prospect of an electric car industry growing up around the run-down Merseyside manufacturing site is not imminent, CAR has learned.'No Ampera to be built in Europe before 2015'Vauxhall insiders have made it clear that the car to be known as the Vauxhall/Opel Ampera in Europe will be an import from the US for at least five years. One senior planner told us: 'The US will be the sole source of Amperas until at least 2015.'Bob Lutz, GM's former product supremo who recently came out of retirement as a PR, said that the low value of the dollar made the US an ideal site for the manufacturing of export cars. And with forecast sticker prices of the range-extender electric car standing at a scary £35,000+, every price saving is vital to its marketability.The European market also needs time to get its electricity recharge infrastructure in place before it is worth making cars onshore in volume, GM high-ups point out.

Mazda MX-5 Kuro Special Editions

Mazda has released yet another special edition MX-5 for the UK market in the guise of the Mazda MX-5 Kuro.  Yes, it’s yet another special edition MX-5, this time the Mazda MX-5 Kuro which comes as either a 1.8 litre soft top or a 2.0 litre Roadster Coupe. It seems the Japanese like the idea of ‘Black’ Special Edition cars as much as we do in the West (Kuro means black in Japanese), with the last ‘Kuro’ special being the Nissan Juke Kuro. But oddly Mazda are offering the MX-5 Kuro not just in black but also in Velocity Red Mica and Crystal White Pearlescent, with the ‘Kuro’ bits referring to the Brilliant Black roof, door mirrors and dark gunmetal 17″ alloys.