35009bk Simpson Racing Axle Ratchet Tie-downs on 2040-parts.com

Nissan LEAF: Fleet sales double

Nissan has revealed that fleet sales of its electric LEAF have doubled in the UK, with overall Nissan fleet sales up 9 per cent. Sales of electric cars are not exactly stellar, but there is a light at the end of a very long tunnel shining dimly on UK EV sales – the fleet sector. Nissan has reported that its fleet sales in the UK – with 89 per cent of all fleets sales of cars actually built in the UK – has risen by 9 per cent so far in 2012, but the Nissan LEAF EV has seen its fleets sales more than double.

Aston Martin's Launch Edition Cygnets (2011)

Production of the Aston Martin Cygnet begins in just a few months' time, and the sports car company has announced two special editions to celebrate the launch of its new city car. According to Aston Martin, the Cygnet Launch Edition White and Cygnet Launch Edition Black are being built to ‘exemplify the highly bespoke nature of this unique car.’ Are we alone in spotting the irony of building a run of identical vehicles to highlight the customisable nature of the Cygnet? The Cygnet Launch Edition White is supposed to be about serenity, with Snow White paint, white diamond-turned alloy wheels, and white Aston badges on the outside, and white leather on the inside.

Qoros 3 first Chinese five-star safety car

Qoros has become the first Chinese car brand to receive a five-star crash safety rating from Euro NCAP. The Qoros 3 small family saloon scored highly across all categories, and even performed well in the tricky side pole impact test. In fact, according to Qoros, the Qoros 3 has the “best overall performance” of any car tested by Euro NCAP so far in 2013.