1952 Buick Hood Ornament on 2040-parts.com

MINI celebrates 100 years of car production in Oxford

MINI will be celebrating a century of car production in Oxford on 28th March 2013, 100 years since the first Bullnose Morris Oxford was produced. It’s 100 years since the first Bullnose Morris Oxford rolled out on 28th March 1903, since when 11,655,000 cars have been built – with as many as 28,000 people employed in its heyday – and even Tiger Moth planes and Iron Lungs built alongside 80,000 repairs to Spitfires and Hurricanes during WWII. What is now MINI’s Plant Oxford was founded by William Morris – and Morris Motors kept control until 1952 – and has been owned and run by BMC, then British Motor Holdings (when Jaguar arrived), British Leyland (when Leyland Trucks, Triumph and Rover joined), nationalisation in the 1970s saw a variety of names, Rover Group arrived in 1986 and was subsequently privatised and sold in 1994 to BMW.

Lexus IS Coupe arriving in 2014 & IS F V8 on the way

Now it looks like Lexus is going to bring the LF-CC to production life in 2014 as the Lexus IS Coupe (although there are rumours it could be the RC, but that may be for a production version of the even more appealing LF-LC as a range-topping Lexus Coupe) and equip it with the same petrol engine and hybrid options as the IS saloon. What is also in prospect is a return of the IS F – complete with sizeable V8 power – which, if it does arrive, will see the IS Coupe coming with the F engine option and making a very promising foray in to the powerful V8 Coupe market. What doesn’t seem likely is that Lexus are going to bother with a diesel option for the IS or Coupe, despite conventional wisdom saying they need a diesel option to compete in Europe because - as they’ve already demonstrated with the IS 300h – they can deliver an appealing and competitive hybrid with decent performance and price, and bring it in with under 100g/km emissions – perfect for the business market.

Toyota Yaris Facelift revealed

The 2014 Toyota Yaris (pictured) gets a new look It’s only a few months since the Toyota Yaris got a series of updates for 2014, but despite that Toyota has rolled out a full facelift for the Yaris which will arrive in Toyota showrooms this summer. Building on the styling of the new Toyota Aygo, the new Yaris gets a cosmetic makeover on the exterior including the same cross shape nose with a central Toyota logo, new upper and lower grills, LED tail lights, diffuser in the back bumper and a new shape number plate surround. Inside, Toyota say they’ve invested a lot of work to make the cabin of the Yaris better and given it a greater feel of roominess and dynamic appeal, more choices of equipment and trim and a more upmarket feel.