Bentley W12 Badge on 2040-parts.com

New car sales in UK still growing – up 14.8% April 2013. Driven by PPI Claims?

It is quite hard to fathom just how UK new car sales (well, registrations) continue to rise inexorably against a backdrop of otherwise stagnant economic activity, but they do. April 2013 has seen a total of 163,357 new car registrations, up a huge 14.8 per cent on April 2012 and the best figure since 2008, and these sales figures are not being driven by fleet buyers but by private motorists – private sector registrations grew by 32.3 per cent in April and are up by 15.2 per cent year to date. Not surprisingly, it’s the Superminis that are performing strongly – although all sectors are showing a rise – and it’s the Ford Fiesta that continues to be the best seller in the UK with sales of over 8,000 in April and over 42,000 so far in 2013, and the rise of superminis has also seen an increase in sales of petrol-engined cars thanks to the wave of small capacity, frugal petrol options.

Lyonheart K: Was the Growler, still very Jaguar E-Type

Lyonheart K - the 21st Century Jaguar E-Type The Lyonheart K was the Jaguar E-Type “Growler” and is now heading for production as a Swiss English venture by Classic Factory. Last year we were treated to renderings of a  Jaguar E-Type homage in the form of the Visualtech Growler, an XKR dressed up as a 21st century E-Type. But it all went quiet.

Lexus IS sedan highlights SEMA show display

This is the year of the IS for Lexus at the SEMA show, with seven of the sports sedans all together on different stands scattered around various halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center. But there will also be one LFA and a bicycle. Let's start with the LFA.