1966 Chevrolet Malibu Glove Box Door on 2040-parts.com

Nissan Micra (2010) at the Geneva motor show

This is the new Nissan Micra, revealed today at the 2010 Geneva motor show by company chief exec Carlos Ghosn. Blame the need to appeal to buyers in over 160 countries, and Nissan’s desire to keep its cost down – fancy steel pressings cost cash. The new Micra will be built in at least four factories across the globe; Nissan’s Sunderland plant will build the new Juke and Europe’s supply of the Micra will come from a factory in India.

Ford Fiesta eWheelDrive gets wheel hub electric motors

The Ford Fiesta eWheelDrive – a driveable research vehicle built by Ford and German specialists Schaeffler – may be a regular supermini in size, but it points towards a potential future EV which is much more compact and very manoeuvrable. Ford has taken a regular Fiesta and dumped its powertrain, replacing it with a battery bank where the engine would be and fitted a pair of in-hub electric motors on the rear wheels. But the plan is to build new cars with the batteries under the floor which frees up the space under the bonnet which can then be all but removed to create a very compact urban car that still has space for four.

Nissan Sunny

Nissan is reviving its famous Sunny nameplate for a new entrant to the burgeoning Chinese C-segment sedan market. The car will then go on sale globally across 170 countries, under different names dependant of territory. At 4426mm long and 1695mm wide with a 2600mm wheelbase, the Sunny is thoroughly conventional in its dimensions, yet there has obviously been a conscious effort to imbue this three-box sedan with a more monobox aesthetic, following on from the Nissan Ellure concept.