Alfa Romeo Alfetta Gold Clover Leaf Internal Central Rear Vision Mirror on 2040-parts.com

Paris Motor Show 2012 – Trends and Overview

The 2012 Paris Mondial de l'Automobile will not be remembered as a classic. When the Big Book of the Paris Motor Show is published, 2012 may be consigned to no more than a side note as the show that marked what a dire situation the European car industry was once in. The most worrying aspect of the Paris show was the general lack of progression.

Is Mercedes preparing to buy Ducati?

Remember the AMG-Ducati deal made at the 2010 Los Angeles auto show last month? A partnership of like-minded brands, albeit on two wheels and four. Daimler marketing types reckon that buyers of its AMG go-faster cars could in many instances be equally interested in go-faster motorbikes of the sort Ducati specialise in, and vice versa.

Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid: Production underway

The world’s first production plug-in diesel hybrid – the Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid – has gone in to production ahead of customer deliveries. Volvo are producing just 1,000 2013 V60 plug-ins, but are aiming to up production to between 4-6,000 a year from the 2014 model year and, despite the problems of integrating the V60′s complicated electric stuff in to a production car, the V60 plug-in is rolling down the same production line as the regular V60, V70, S80 and XC90. That complicated stuff includes two different powertrains and a battery pack – enough for up to 32 miles as an EV only – and a total of 300 additional parts compared to a regular ICE V60.