Alfa Romeo 164 on 2040-parts.com

Opel/Vauxhall Astra GTC

Opel/Vauxhall has revealed pictures of the forthcoming Astra GTC ahead of its official unveiling at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Virtually unchanged from the GTC Paris concept of last year, the Astra GTC will go head to head with the Volkswagen Scirocco and Renault’s Megane Coupe. The third body style to enter the Astra family, the GTC shares only the door handles and roof aerial with its siblings.

Nissan LEAF hits 3000 sales in the UK

Nissan LEAF hits 3000 sales in the UK What can probably be considered the first properly convincing electric car – the Nissan LEAF – has clocked up 3,000 sales in the UK since it was launched in 2011. In terms of overall car sale in those two years it’s an insignificant fraction, but in terms of making the electric car a viable form of transport it’s a big milestone. The second generation LEAF – launched earlier in 2013 – moved Nissan’s EV game on a bit with a raft of improvements, and has sold 1300 in the UK in just the last six months,.

First Sight: BMW 3 Series

With the 7 Series of 2001, Z4 of 2002, X3, 5 and 6 Series of 2003, and 1 Series earlier this year, the current E46 3 Series is the last (X5 excepted) 'old school' BMW in production. These first official pictures show BMW's fifth generation E90 3 Series which replaces this car and completes the new design strategy for the main series BMW range under Design Director Chris Bangle. Now with a smaller sibling in the range, the 3 Series is no longer BMW's entry level car although it shares much of its platform with the 1 Series and it is expected to continue to account for about half of BMW's total sales.