Arp Bolt Kit - 6pt. (5) 1/2-13 X 3.000 617-3000 on 2040-parts.com

Smart car inventor Nicolas Hayek dies

Nicolas Hayek, the engineer and industrialist who founded the Swiss watch company Swatch and brought the world the Smart car, died on June 28 of heart failure at his office in Switzerland. He was 82. Hayek saved the Swiss watch industry from lower-priced Asian competition in the early 1980s by offering colorful, inexpensive Swatch timepieces that he backed with equally colorful marketing.

4x4 prices rise sharply

FOUR-WHEEL-DRIVE cars are soaring on the used car market, according to car auction house British Car Auctions (BCA). Off-roader values rose by up to 16% in October as the first signs of winter emerged. With some medium-term weather forecasts highlighting a colder-than-average winter, BCA is predicting that 4x4 prices may keep rising.

Audi confirms 2016 Q1 compact SUV

Audi Audi has confirmed it will begin production of a premium compact crossover Q1 model in 2016 to rival the MINI Countryman and Nissan Juke. The Q1 will be Audi’s entry-level off-roader, sitting below the current Q3, Q5 and Q7 SUVs. On Bing: see pictures of the Audi Q1Find out how much a used Audi Q3 costs on Auto Trader In confirming the Q1, Audi chief executive officer Rupert Stadler highlighted, "the Q1 is a key component of our [Audi’s] growth strategy." The German manufacturer’s A1 supermini has proved a success following its introduction back in 2010, and now the four-ringed firm wants a slice of the market in the compact off-road sector.