92-95 Honda Civic Dimmer Switch on 2040-parts.com

Vauxhall Astra VXR Extreme gets 300bhp

The Vauxhall Astra VXR Extreme (pictured) gets 300bhp When the Vauxhall Astra Extreme popped its head above the parapet at the end of January as a potential range-topping Astra, we did wonder if it was going to get more power as well as suspension and cosmetic tweaks. It is. Vauxhall still aren’t saying just how powerful the Extreme is, but they do say it will have ‘more than 300 pS if (and probably, when) it goes in to production.

Peugeot 207 Epure concept

Eight years ago, the Peugeot 20Heart show car previewed the 206CC, which brought folding metal roofs to the masses. Since then, Opel has re-released the Tigra, while Nissan has retorted with the Micra CC in the mini-cabrio stakes. Accordingly, Peugeot will update their range with the 207CC, previewed here as the 207 Epure that will be displayed at the Paris Motor Show.

Toyota and Mercedes-Benz are top global car brands

Toyota & Mercedes-Benz are the Top Global Automotive Brands 2011 Interbrand, a branding consultancy, delivers a report on the world’s brands every year, and in 2011, despite recall woes and the devastation of the Japanese Tsunami, Toyota leads the automotive brands, with luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz just behind. Interbrand uses three measures to gauge how effective a brand is – performance of branded product, the brands ability to secure earnings and the role of the brand in purchasing decisions – to come up with a chart of the top 100 world brands. At the top of the tree are companies like Coca Cola, IBM, Microsoft and Google, but car brands do well with Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Honda, VW, and Ford all making it in to the top 50.