2-new Bridgestone Dueler H/l Alenza 265/70-17 Tires R17 on 2040-parts.com

Cash-for-clunkers clears 180,000 in sales, is poised for an extension

The cash-for-clunkers program has reached sales of more than 180,000--topped by the Toyota Corolla--as the Senate is poised to vote on an extension of the program on as soon as Thursday. The Ford Focus is the second-best-selling car under the program, and the Honda Civic, the Toyota Prius and the Camry complete the top five, according to Reuters. The top trade-ins were all domestics, including trucks from Ford and Dodge, as well as Jeep.

Traffic delays 'to last weeks'

DRIVERS at the beginning of the summer holiday getaway are being warned of weeks of delays on the roads. The first major jams will be on Friday July 25, and the five Saturdays that follow, starting July 26 and ending August 23, are expected to be the most congested days of the summer. From traffic information company Inrix, the warnings included forecasts that hour-long journeys on Friday could take up to 90 minutes.

2014 BMW X3 Facelift and more efficient engines

The 2014 BMW X3 (pictured) gets a facelift and new engines The current version of the BMW X3 SUV has been with us for more than three years, so BMW are giving it a bit of a mid-cycle facelift and more frugal engines to keep the X3 on top of its – very successful – game. Engines on offer for the 2014 X3 include the 2.0 litre diesel in the sDrive18d which offers 148bhp and 56.8mpg and the 187bhp in the X3 xDrive20d which returns 52.3mpg, the xDrive30d – which gets the 3.0 litre diesel unit – with 254bhp and 47.9mpg and the X3 xDrive35 which has an impressive 309bhp but still manages official economy of 47.1mpg. When it comes to the cosmetic facelift bits, BMW hasn’t really pushed the boat out, but the new X3 does get a new headlight design which is sleeker, new front and rear bumpers and a new surround for the kidney grill, which all contrive to make the new X3 look even more like a baby X5.