1980 1983 Datsun Nissan 280zx Arm Rest Coupe Red on 2040-parts.com

2015 Vauxhall Astra means new UK jobs

Vauxhall has announced that it will take on 300 new staff at its Ellesmere Port plant, ready for production of the new Astra in 2015. It follows the plant’s successful bid to build the 2015 Astra, which secured investment of £125 million for the UK factory in 2012. 20 reasons why Britain’s car industry is booming Read a Vauxhall new car review Meanwhile, in 2011, Vauxhall’s Luton plant received a £185 million investment to build the new Vivaro van – and now the Bedfordshire base is planning to create a further 250 jobs.

Watch the sad, final moments of a crusher-bound heap

Automotive wrecking yards are good places to reflect on the real-world values of heavily depreciated vehicles versus global current scrap-metal prices, and to see which cars have suddenly had the fix-it-versus-total-it line moved by insurance companies (the early-21st-century Subaru Legacy Outback, for example, appeared in large numbers in high-turnover wrecking yards just during the last year, as fairly minor collision damage on these cars is no longer worth fixing). You'll see the things that a car's last owner does in a desperate attempt to sell (or at least live with) an increasingly decrepit heap (as we learned in "Repo Man," you really will find a Little Tree in every car). During a recent trip to a San Jose, Calif., yard, I encountered this sad yet strangely compelling scene.

Future products: Mitsubishi turns focus to small, global cars

Major updates to Mitsubishi's products are on the back burner as the company concentrates on developing small cars that can be sold around the world. That means the future is uncertain for the Galant, Endeavor and Eclipse and Eclipse Spyder, which Mitsubishi builds in the United States. A top priority is a global small car expected to go on sale here by the end of 2012.