Fire sale continues: Ford cuts stake in Mazda

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 18 November 2008 16:09 Yesterday GM sold its stake in Suzuki; today Ford announced plans to slash its shareholding in Mazda. Previously the Blue Oval held a third of Mazda’s stock, but it has cut that to just 13%. Ford admitted the sale was purely to boost its balance sheet, as the Big Three continue to struggle with cashflow.

BMW Concept X1 (2008) unveiled: first official photos and video

By Ben Whitworth First Official Pictures 01 October 2008 00:31 This is the new BMW X1. Okay, BMW calls it the Concept X1 – it will be wheeled out tomorrow at the opening day of the Paris motor show – but 99 percent of what you see here will be arriving in production form in the UK in autumn 2009. Expect prices to kick off around £20,000 as the X1 tries to capitalise on its lack of direct rivals – Audi’s Q3 is still two years away.

New Ford Mondeo: Estate, Hybrid and 4WD

The 2013 Ford Mondeo will come as a regular five door and estate but there will also be a four wheel diesel and a hybrid option. We’ve already reported that the new Mondeo will get the 1.0 litre EcoBoost engine as an option – the first time any car in the D Segment has had such a small engine – but there’s more to the new Mondeo than just a headline little engine and an Aston Martin grill. As well as the frugal EcoBoost engine, Ford will also be launching their first hybrid in Europe with a Mondeo Hybrid boasting a 2.0-litre petrol engine with a 35kW lithium-ion battery to trim official emissions and consumption as much as possible.