1969-1972 Chevy/gmc Instrument Bezel Black & Chrome on 2040-parts.com

Manufacturers report 2013 sales boom

CAR MANUFACTURERS are reporting strong surges in sales for 2013, with one mainstream brand up by more than 55%. So far Ford, Vauxhall, Skoda, MG, Lexus, Renault, Audi and Mercedes have all reported excellent sales performance, with Mercedes having passed the 100,000 registrations per year mark for the first time in the UK. Largely thanks to the introduction of the Dacia brand this year, the Renault Group has seen a 55.3% rise in sales, to 63,319 units.

Essex is home to a Brand New E-Type Jaguar

Ray Parrott, an Essex haulier and E-Type fanatic, has created the last ever authentic E-Type Jaguar from a collection of spare parts that has been gathering dust in a garage since 1974, when the last E-Type rolled off the production line at Browns Lane. Ray was contacted by Mike Wilkinson of M & C Wilkinson Spares, a classic Jag parts specialist in Yorkshire, who had dealt with Ray on many occasions for parts for the E-Types he already owned, to tell him that he had been able to secure this huge range of parts, all brand new and unused, from the guy who had bought them from Jaguar in the ’70s And so was hatched a plan. The New E-Type Jaguar belonging to Ray Parrot Between them they realised that there were at least 95% of the parts needed to build an E-Type from scratch, including the bodyshell, brand new V12 engine, gearbox and rear axle and even an unopened canvas top for the Roadster.

Audi develops new A2; plans for U.S. unclear

Audi is developing a reincarnation of the A2 small car that will slot between the A3 and the A1 minicar introduced in Geneva last week. "There's clearly room for another product and another concept between the A3 and A1," Audi CEO Rupert Stadler said on the sidelines of the Geneva auto show. Michael Dick, Audi's board member for technology, said in an interview that the company's push to add electric variants will play a role with the next-generation A2 "in the near future." The German media have reported that the A2 is expected by 2014.