01 Chevy Corvette Fuel Filler Door 192180 on 2040-parts.com

Mazda to recall more than 500,000 vehicles

Mazda plans to recall about 514,000 vehicles to repair power-steering systems that fail suddenly. The recall will affect the Mazda 3 and the Mazda 5 manufactured in Japan from 2007 to 2008, according to a report in Reuters. Currently, Mazda has filed recalls for 215,000 vehicles in the United States and more than 10,000 in China.

Tesla Model S outselling Chevrolet Volt & Nissan LEAF

Tesla never managed to make any money out of their electric Lotus – the Tesla Roadster – but it does look like they’re on to a winner with their electric  executive saloon, the Tesla Model S. Despite moans that the headline-grabbing sub-$50k Model S was never a reality – and a starting point of $70k – the Model S looks set to outsell the two most successful ‘alternatively fuelled’ cars – the electric Nissan LEAF and the range extender Chevrolet Volt – in the first quarter of 2013. Sales of the electric Nissan LEAF, which costs from $29k in the US, in the first quarter of 2013 were 3,965 units and the Chevrolet Volt, which costs from $40k, sold 4,421 units.

Audi A3 hatch, Sportback and saloon (2012) sketches

Audi has released a batch of official design sketches revealing the new 2012 Audi A3. This is our first glimpse of the new A3 hatch, A3 Sportback and A3 saloon. There will be another A3 cabriolet, but no renderings have been issued yet.