1950 Buick Heater Sales Brochure / Original Dealership Folder on 2040-parts.com

Mini factory celebrates its 100th birthday

A bastion of the British car-building industry, Mini’s ‘Plant Oxford’ in Cowley, Oxford celebrates 100 years of building cars today (28 March 2013). Currently responsible for producing the second-gen BMW Mini range, Plant Oxford has been the birthplace more than just trendy city cars: it’s stamped out over 11.5 million cars since 1913, including legend like the Morris Minor and Frogeye Sprite, and clunkers like the Morris Marina. It also contributed to the war effort by repairing damaged RAF fighter aircraft during the Second World War.

Plans To Drop Congestion Charge Pay-By Text

TEXT messages are to be dropped as a way for drivers to pay for their congestion charge under plans being considered by Transport for London (TfL). A new Smartphone app may replace text messages, which make up around 400 out of the 130,000 congestion charge payments made each day. TfL, which is launching a six-week consultation ending on September 12, describes texts as an "under-used SMS payment service" and claims the app would enable drivers to carry out a wider range of tasks.

Ram heavy-duty pickup gets higher towing rating

Ram has fired the latest salvo in the ongoing pickup war between the domestic automakers, releasing what the brand claims is now best-in-class towing capacity for its 2013 heavy-duty pickups. The 2013 Ram 3500 is rated to tow a 30,000-pound trailer, up from a maximum towing capacity of 22,750 pounds for the same vehicle and powertrain setup in 2012. According to their respective Web sites, similarly equipped heavy-duty 3500 pickups from General Motors are rated at a towing capacity of 23,100 pounds, while Ford's F-350 similarly equipped is rated at 22,800 pounds.