1991 Subaru Justy Awd 40k . Outback,forester, on 2040-parts.com

Audi tracks down the last Horch

The last Horch built, found in the middle of Texas It’s been looking likely for a while that now VW has taken control of Porsche it may decide to rebrand the VW Group as Auto Union. Auto Union was the root of Audi, and was formed in the ’30s when Audi, Horch, DKW and Wanderer joined forces to become Auto Union and pool their resources to cope with the depression (sound familiar?). Which might explain why Audi has been scouring the planet for rare cars from its Auto Union days.

Better Place Electric Car visitor centre opens

Better Place have opened a visitor centre in Israel to demonstrate their battery swap technology for electric cars Last October we wrote about a start-up company in Israel – Better Place – that had a new way forward for electric cars by taking the purchase of battery packs out of the equation, and was developing a system for ‘Battery Swap’ stations where electric car owners could drive in and swap their battery pack for a fully-charged one in a few minutes. That story first brought to our attention our favourite quote of last year – by Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn – who said “A hybrid is like a mermaid: if you want a fish, you get a woman; if you want a woman, you get a fish.” Which probably explained why Nissan – and its partner Renault – got involved with Better Place. Better Place aims to address the main concerns of electric car drivers by making the battery packs in electric cars ‘swappable’.

Rolls Royce to set up shop in South America

Rolls Royce showrooms planned in South America The paradox of the current economic malaise  is that luxury goods – and luxury cars in particular - seem immune from the problems of the mainstream. Rolls Royce – to many still the epitome of luxury motoring – is doing very well, and is now planning an expansion in to South America. The cynical may say that Rolls Royce want a piece of the drug money floating round South America in their coffers, but South America is far more than a bunch of drug barons freely spending illicit cash.