08-10 Dodge Charger Shifter Chrysler 300 300c 09 2008 2009 2010 on 2040-parts.com

New Nissan X-Trail starts at £22,995. But it’s FWD

The new Nissan X-Trail (pictured) falls in price The styling of the new Nissan X-Trail, which arrived last year at Frankfurt, has eschewed a lot of the boxiness of the old X-Trail and taken on many of the styling cues from the new Nissan Qashqai. And in the process it’s perhaps become ‘softer’. The old X-Trail was more rugged than most modern compact SUVs, but the new X-Trail has arrived with a choice of Front Wheel Drive versions – no doubt aimed at keeping the price down – as well as cuddlier looks.

New Mercedes B-Class Electric Drive goes in to production

The first Mercedes B-Class ED (pictured) rolls off the production line in Rastatt With the BMW i3 grabbing headlines – and flying out of showrooms – as BMW’s first electric car, Mercedes need to play catch-up with a convincing EV of their own, and that’s the new B-Class Electric Drive – an EV version of the regular B-Class – which has now gone in to production in Germany. Built alongside regular ICE versions of the B-Class at Mercedes’ Rastatt Plant, the B-Class ED (Electric Drive) looks practically the same as its more conventionally powered siblings – although the front bumper does look a bit different – and has an electric motor good for 177 bhp and 250 lb/ft of torque, can manage a scoot to 62 mph in 7.9 seconds and has a range of up to 124 miles. The range – at least the quoted range – is a chunk better than the BMW i3′s and on a par with the latest Nissan LEAF, thanks to EV technology provided by Tesla, and the wrapping of an EV drivetrain in a conventional series production car could appeal to more buyers than the ‘statement’ design of the BMW i3.

BMW Alpina D3 Bi-Turbo Coupe (2008) : first pictures

By Tom Richards First Official Pictures 06 August 2008 13:07 The BMW 330d Coupe has just been made redundant because Alpina, the Buchloe-based tuner, tweaker and BMW bedfellow, has released the D3 Bi-Turbo Coupe. Alpina engineers have taken BMW’s twin-turbo diesel from the 123d, slotted it into the Three Coupe, then tweaked it to produce 211bhp. The result is an engine that produces more horsepower per litre than any other BMW or Alpina road car, they say.