1963 Ford Galaxie Grill Center Emblem Hood Release 500 Xl 300 on 2040-parts.com

The fall and rise of the budget car

Twenty years ago, the classic bargain brands like Lada seemed to be going the same way as the Soviet empire that spawned them. Woefully dated and badly made, only a weirdo would have bought a new Lada rather than a second-hand model from Ford, Vauxhall or VW. However, one of the big trends in the car industry today is the re-emergence of bargain cars.

2015 Ford S-Max revealed – debuts at 2014 Paris Motor Show

The new Ford S-Max debuts at Paris and goes on sale next summer The Ford S-Max Concept arrived at the Frankfurt Motor Show last year as Ford worked hard to prove they really did have new cars on the way, despite the huge delay in delivering the new Ford Mondeo to Europe – with which the new S-Max shares its underpinnings – and now we get the real deal – the 2015 Ford S-Max. Looking very like the S-Max Concept, the new S-Max is the same size as the outgoing model but gets an evolutionary redesign complete with Ford’s ‘Aston Martin’ grill and some funky headlights, with the A-Pillars further back, higher beltline, bigger shoulders at the back and a set of slim tail lights at the back separated by a chrome strip. It all conspires to make the new S-Max sportier and more appealing.

Volkswagen Golf Sportsvan Concept previews 2014 Golf Plus

The Volkswagen Golf Sportsvan Concept (pictured) previews the 2014 Golf Plus VW are calling the Golf Sportsvan a concept, but it’s pretty much what we’ll see in the new VW Golf Plus when it arrives in mid-2014. Just like the other new Golfs, the Sportsvan uses the new MQB platform but grows in size. It’s 134mm longer than the Golf Plus and 83mm longer than the new Golf and has a wheelbase longer by 43mm to offer more space inside.