57 Chevy Pickup Truck Hood (rat Rod) on 2040-parts.com

Vauxhall Astra VXR (2012) gets 282bhp + new GTC photos

Astra GTC Concept Paris Vauxhall sneaked us a peek at the 2012 Vauxhall Astra VXR a couple of weeks ago – slightly titivated and called the Astra GTC Concept admittedly – but the 2012 Vauxhall Astra VXR none the less. And we ran the story, even though there was precious little to say beyond they’d turned the ‘blades’ round on the doors to make it look more butch and that it’d turn up when the 3 door Astra does in a years time. But Vauxhall has decided to throw a little more out there, so we get images of the interior and some firm (ish) news on the oily bits.

Saab: Is India’s Mahindra in the hunt for bankrupt Saab?

India's Mahindra in the hunt for Saab? It’s reported that a representative of a ‘Large Indian Car Maker’ has been rebuffed by the Saab receivers. Victor Muller finally gave up the task of trying to keep Saab in business just before Christmas and filed for bankruptcy.

BYD E6 – Next Gen Electric Car battery technology

Chinese car maker BYD are using revolutionary battery technology in the BYD E6 The biggest problem with electric cars (or one of them, at least) is that the battery technology is not really up to the ambitions of car makers. Chevrolet’s Volt (aka Opel Ampera) is a good case in point. Tellingly, a Toyota tecchy referred to the science behind the Chevvy Volt as ‘Vaporware’, and the whole project is founded on the expectation that the technolgy will develop quickly enough to make the car a reality.