1983 Honda Shadow Vt750c Final Drive W/extras on 2040-parts.com

Beijing motor show: China means (auto) business

By Guy Bird Motor Shows 22 April 2008 05:34 Only a fool wandering around this week's Beijing motor show would still dismiss China as some also-ran automotive market full of rip-off designs and outdated ‘new’ cars based on old Western designs. While all of those clichés were still in evidence at the Chinese auto show, the copycat mentality is much less obvious than even a year ago at last year's Shanghai show. And every western car exec CAR spoke to was in awe of the upward sales trajectory that means China is still the place to do business in 2008.Yes, there are still some odd automotive fish, usually small ‘three-box’ saloon in shape such as the Chinese market only Citroen C-Elysee and the VW Lavida (a Jetta/Bora Plus car with less style).

Chrysler unplugs Envi electric-vehicle division

Envi, the team of engineers charged with developing electric vehicles for Chrysler, has been disbanded. A spokesman told Reuters that development of electric cars will be integrated into the company's traditional structure. “Envi is absorbed into the normal vehicle-development program,” Chrysler spokesman Nick Cappa told the wire service.

Peugeot 508 Spied

The Peugeot 508 caught in Madrid We first reported that Peugeot were planning on dumping the 407 and 607 and replacing them with a car pitched somewhere in between – the Peugeot 508 – back in November. Which makes sense. The big French cars never sell anywhere other than France and the 407 needs to go a bit more upmarket to keep up with the competition.