115hp Suzuki Trim Relay Assy. on 2040-parts.com

Tata says hello with the Tata Nano Europa

The Tata Nano Europa - expected to come to Europe as a sub £5k car [ad#ad-1] Tata has had a pretty torrid time of late, what with problems in India and the decimation of the world car markets, which has badly affected sales of its recently acquired Land Rover and Jaguar marques. But as we reported last week, they have just landed a huge contract to supply Jaguars and Land Rovers to the Chinese, which will ease problems at JLR, and now they’re on a world-domination cheapest-car quest with the Nano Europa. The Nano Europa is the version of the little Tata that is going to be launched in Europe, and has just previewed at Geneva 2009.

Consumer Reports ranks the Kia Sorento third among small, midsize SUVs

The 2011 Kia Sorento EX V6 now ranks third in the Consumer Reports ratings for small and midsize SUVs. Having earned an “excellent” overall score of 82 in recent tests, the Sorento trails only the Subaru Forester 2.5XT and the Toyota RAV4 V6. The magazine notes that the Sorento has a very firm ride and that the six-speed automatic transmission shifts smoothly.

Hot Wheels and Icon in sandbox battle

As first reported by Jeff Glucker of Hooniverse, the toymaker Mattel has been accused of infringing on a trademark held by the low-volume vehicle builder Icon 4X4. Icon claims that a Hot Wheels toy being distributed worldwide is based on its Icon FJ40—which itself is based on the Toyota FJ40—and that Hot Wheels' use of Icon's design, promotional materials and the name “FJ40” violates trademarks held by Icon. In its response to Tuesday's Hooniverse post, Hot Wheels claimed that the toy is not based on the Icon FJ40, and that it has the right to use the term “FJ40” despite Icon's trademark.