04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 Malibu Power Steering Pump Elec Assist 2816310 on 2040-parts.com

Ford invents agile, low-cost solution for prototyping, customization and limited production [w/video]

A new metal forming technique pioneered by Ford that drastically reduces the time and cost of producing low-volume and one-off body parts may lead to cost-effective customization, redesigns, one-offs and limited production runs. Ford Freeform Fabrication Technology (F3T) forms sheets of metal by two stylus-like tools, one on each side of the surface. Using CAD data they form the part to the exacting strength and finish tolerances usually associated with stamping dies.

2014 Vauxhall Meriva facelift gets new diesel engine

2014 Vauxhall Meriva facelift (pictured) gets new diesel engine It’s more than three years since the Vauxhall Meriva arrived – at Geneva in 2010 – as Vauxhall’s compact people carrier, so it’s time for a bit of a titivate and a few updates. The cosmetic makeover for the 2014 MY Meriva isn’t huge, but Vauxhall has thrown in a new grill and new headlights to fulfil the ‘new nose’ requirements of a facelift, there’s new alloys and new alloy options and daytime running lights. But the biggest change comes under the skin, with the old 1.7 litre turbo diesel being supplanted by the new 1.6 litre from the Zafira which offers 134bhp and 236lb/ft of torque.

Toyota Yaris Hybrid: Previews new Yaris

Toyota Yaris Hybrid - a preview of the next-gen Yaris Toyota are determined to shove hybrid gubbins in anything they build that moves, so we now get a hybrid version of the next generation Yaris revealed at Geneva. Just as Toyota aren’t saying if the new Prius+ will get the regular 1.8 litre hybrid drivetrain (we think it will), they’re also not saying if the Toyota Yaris Hybrid will get it. We’re assuming not, because it would then out-perform both the Prius and the Auris Hybrid, which would never do.