2003 Corolla Door Latch Lock Right Passenger Side Front on 2040-parts.com

Maserati’s 50,000 sales target starting to look possible

22,500 sales so far in 2013 from Maserati, thanks to cars like the Ghibli (pictured) When Sergio Marchionne revealed in 2011 that he wanted Maserati sales to hit 50,000 a year by 2015, we were all very sceptical. After all, Maserati were only managing fewer than 6,000 sales a year at that time, so a target of 50,000 a year seemed mad. But it’s starting to look a distinct possibility.

Lotus not liquidating

When a storied car brand moves only 137 units in a year in the UK and 242 in the US, predictions of said marque's demise carry a certain amount of weight -- 137 is not exactly a number that makes an automaker too big to fail. When the manufacturer in question shows up on a government list of companies to be shut down, brand-enthusiast hearts get heavy; the early stages of mourning kick in. But when the company in question is Lotus, the enthusiast thinks to himself, “Eh, they've been in dire straits before.

Mini Beachcomber Concept at Detroit motor show 2010

This funky beach-biased concept car has just appeared at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show in January. Called the Mini Beachcomber Concept, this flight-of-fancy Moke-inspired show car gives us our first glimpse of how Mini's production-spec 4x4 crossover will look at launch - we'll see the real car at the Geneva motor show in March 2010 ahead of an autumn UK launch. This four-seater, four-wheel-drive machine has been designed without doors or a conventional roof, so that its occupants are not cut off from the outside world.