99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 Sonata Santa Fe Magentis Optima Fuel Injector Rail 2.4l on 2040-parts.com

Will this Datsun crossover concept be a new Nissan CUV?

We've heard a lot about Datsun in the past few months. The defunct-but-returning brand was part of the inspiration for the Nissan IDx concepts seen at the Detroit auto show, but Nissan has been talking about selling cars under the Datsun brand in developing markets like India, Russia and Indonesia since last July. The company released a concept sketch on Wednesday of a small people carrier, set to debut at the Delhi Auto Expo in February.

Smart Fortwo Lightshine launches

Yet another Smart Limited Edition - the Smart Fortwo Lightshine You have to hand it to Mercedes – they don’t give up on Smart (or Maybach – another expensive departure). They keep churning out new cars (well, endless new limited editions, anyway) despite sales that seem to keep falling. Last year (2010) saw Smart sales in the UK fall by 8.5% and their sales last month (December 2010) were a woeful 57% down on December 2009.

Renault Zoe sets new electric car record for distance travelled

The Renault Zoe EV has set a new world record for distance travelled in an electric car in 24 hours – 1005 miles. It seems Renault are determined to prove that an electric car – in this case the Renault Zoe EV – can travel sensible distances in a sensible period of time. So they set out to run a pair of production spec Renault Zoes round the Aubevoye speed ring in Normandy for a full twenty four hours with the aim of breaking the record for distance travelled in an electric car in that time (yes, there’s a world record for everything these days).