1998 Jeep Cherokee Automatic Shifter on 2040-parts.com

Best new car sales in six years

RECORD new car sales achieved a six-year high in 2013, the motor industry has announced. A total of 2,264,737 new cars were registered in 2013 - a 10.8% rise on the 2012 figure and the best annual total since the pre-recession year of 2007, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said. The 2013 total was boosted by a 23.76% rise, to nearly 153,000, in sales in December - the 22nd successive month of increases.

Aston Martin Rapide coming home

Aston Martin Rapide - homeward bound It took Aston Martin what seemed like forever to get their four-door supercar – the Aston Martin Rapide – in to production, and even then they didn’t build it themselves. When they were busy planning production of the Rapide the world’s economy was buoyant, credit was a piece of cake and Aston Martins were flying out of the showroom. But the new economic reality bit in 2008 and sales fell at Aston Martin, but by then the plan to get the Rapide built at Magna Steyr in Austria was unstoppable so, despite Aston Martin workers twiddling their thumbs as Magna Steyr built Rapides, there as nothing to be done.

Mitsubishi i-Miev: The Fat-Boy version for the US

The Mitsubishi i-Miev grows in size for the US It’s a big enough problem getting the UK and Europe to buy in to the idea of a very small city car, much less one powered by an electric motor with all the power of a glorified washing machine (exaggerates for effect). It’s even more difficult when your first stab at pricing comes out at nearly £40k. From that shaky start Mitsubishi has gone on the offensive with their electric city car – the Mitsubishi i-Miev.