Blog on 2040Parts

VW pokes, winks, smooches its way to new car sales

Volkswagen launched its revamped consumer website on Thursday. It looks more like OK Cupid or Plenty of Fish or Match.com. Yeah, we’ve used a few, so what?

2014 Peugeot 108: prices and on sale date announced

We first saw the Peugeot 108 at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show, alongside the almost identical Citroen C1 and Toyota Aygo. It’s not on sale in the UK until 1 July 2014, but we got an exclusive chance to have a poke around two models ahead of the official launch. Click on the image above to find out more about the new Peugeot 108

£54k insurance fraud foiled by black box

A fraudulent £54,000 insurance claim following a crash involving a car and a lorry has been found bogus thanks to a black box device fitted to the car. Three passengers in the lorry claimed for personal injury damages after it was shunted at low speed by a Vauxhall Astra. However, the Astra was fitted with a telematics device that, when examined, revealed that due to the size and weight of the vehicles and the speed of the Astra, the claimed injuries were implausible.

1,088-hp electric Concept One nears production

We haven't heard much about the Rimac Concept One lately, but that could be about to change. The Croatian-born electric supercar is back in the news this week after its parent company landed an $11-million investment. The Concept One is the brainchild of 26-year-old CEO Mate Rimac, who claims he didn't want to build the best electric car in the world.

Car making mysterious noises? There's an app for that

You may pride yourself on your ability to diagnose a developing engine problem by sound alone, and then replicate said mystery sound, Click-and-Clack-style, to amuse/annoy your friends and coworkers. ClingClanger is a new phone app that's designed for the rest of the world -- those who can't identify piston slap by sound and are startled by the clicking caused by a dying battery. The natural impulse is to simply crank up the radio and hope the noise/problem goes away.

Watch the reactions of first time drivers of the BMW i3 EV

Jake Humphrey at the wheel of the BMW i3 EV It’s always tough to get across the driving experience; there’s no substitute for actually doing it. So BMW decided the best way to illustrate that their new electric city car – the BMW i3 – is a joy to drive was to film the reactions of first-time drivers, and their passengers, as they take to the wheel of the i3 for the first time on a test drive. BMW has filmed endless hours of footage of different drivers around the world getting to grips with the i3, and they’ve whittled that down to a compelling 1:37 video, much of which shows the reactions of drivers in the UK.

The Extreme Mini Adventure Money Can’t Buy

IT’S NOT every day as an apprentice you get to build a new concept car for your employer. However that’s exactly what a lucky few trainees did when BMW tasked them to make their design study a reality. Choosing the firm’s Mini Paceman as the donor car, the talented apprentices transformed the vehicle into a rugged two-door pick-up – a long way from the original motor’s sleek coupe origins.

Jeep’s ‘Ugly is the new appealing’ Cherokee costs from £25,495

The new Jeep Cherokee (pictured) is now on sale in the UK The new Jeep Cherokee debuted at the New York Motor Show in 2013, giving Jeep a new, smaller SUV with ‘good to be ugly’ looks to mop up the still growing demand for SUVs of all sizes. And now it’s going on sale in the UK. Based on the same underpinnings as the Alfa Giulietta, the new Cherokee comes in at a more affordable price than its big brother, but if you want the entry-level  2.0-litre Longitude 140 you’ll have to make do with front-wheel drive.

Chevrolet debuts police-spec Silverado 1500 Crew Cab

Chevrolet has rolled out the Silverado 1500 Crew Cab Special Service Vehicle meant for law enforcement use, and this truck has a few tricks up its sleeve. The SSV package on the Silverado 1500 Crew Cab is coupled with 1W and 1LS trim levels, with the trucks using the 5.3-liter EcoTec3 V8 producing 355 hp and 383- lb-ft of torque, all while returning as much as 23 mpg on the highway. Things get a little more serious with the addition of a 170-amp high-output alternator and 730-CCA auxiliary battery, which allows occupants to operate the computers, cameras, radios, and emergency lights on the truck.

GM Korea doubles size of its design center

GM has invested $40million in its Korea Design Center, doubling the size of the facility. The expanded studio opened on 25 April, and will give improved support for both exterior and interior design. As well as more studio space, the upgraded facility now includes improved exterior modeling and 3D printing facilities, an outdoor viewing area with three turntables, and a virtual reality studio – the latter allowing design reviews to take place in real time with GM's network of nine other design centers in six other countries around the world.

Mercedes planning more Coupe SUVs to add to the BMW X6 challenging MLC

The Mercedes Concept Coupe SUV (pictured) looks to be just the first in a range of Coupe SUVs No one can be in any doubt that the Mercedes Concept Coupe SUV we saw revealed at the Beijing Motor Show earlier this month will turn in to a ‘coupe’ version of the ML, probably as the Mercedes MLC. What’s also clear is that the MLC is designed to steal a chunk of the market BMW has created for big, lifestyle, coupe SUVs with the X6; take away the Mercedes badge and the Concept Coupe SUV could preview the next generation X6. But with BMW taking their X6 formula and applying it to the X3 – creating the X6 on a boil-wash X4 – Mercedes aren’t going to sit back and let BMW create another lifestyle coupe SUV without responding.

Remembering Oldsmobile and its incredible Aurora

On April 29, 2004, the last Oldsmobile rolled off the line and took the century-old badge with it. Since its founding in 1897, Oldsmobile has enjoyed a beloved and storied past in the tapestry of American industry. So many luminary products arose from its Lansing, Mich., home!

One Lap of the Web: Two-wheeled mayhem

-- The C-01 certainly qualifies as the lightest vehicle Lotus has ever built, because it's a bicycle. A sleek, carbon fiber bicycle for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics that blew minds and won races, while distilling form into agonizingly pure function. Simplify, and add Shimanos.

Alfa Romeo will reportedly become standalone company

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne plans to turn Alfa Romeo into a standalone company, Automotive News Europe reports. Marchionne is expected to announce wide-ranging plans for the brand on May 6 which will see Alfa Romeo become a stand-alone legal entity within Fiat-Chrysler, with a publicly disclosed profit and loss statement. Alfa Romeo is currently part of Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A., which also contains Lancia, Fiat Professional trucks and vans and the Abarth performance brand.

£2,500 price cut for Subaru BRZ

Subaru has cut the retail price of its sporty BRZ coupe by nearly 10% to £23,995 on-the-road for the SE Lux model. The reduction from the previous £26,495 list price (effective from 1 May 2014) marks a £2,500 saving for customers. The price drop is in part related to the introduction of the firm’s performance flagship model, the WRX STI, which hits UK shores in May 2014.

£500m scheme introduced to boost electric car ownership

Newspress Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg is today launching a £500 million scheme to boost electric and hybrid car ownership in the UK.   Perks for electric car drivers The funding will provide extra perks to encourage more drivers to trade in their old, conventionally powered cars for electric or hybrid vehicles. Councils will be able to apply for funding if they come up with plans to encourage people to ditch their petrol and diesel cars – for example, by offering free parking to electric vehicles and giving them the right to drive in bus lanes.

Need for Speed Ford Mustang sells for $300,000

The 900hp Ford Mustang GT as seen in the latest Need for Speed movie has sold at an auction in the US for $300,000 – that’s roughly £180,000. Unfortunately, the winning bidder might be disappointed to find out that in real life it doesn’t make anywhere near the 900hp claimed in the film, instead running a stock 420hp. Please click on the picture above to find out more about the Need for Speed Mustang

Subaru BRZ price DOWN by £2,500

Subaru BRZ now down in price in the UK When the car you produce also gets made under another – higher profile – badge than your own, how to you get buyers to sit up and take notice of your offerings? Easy, you make your car better value. That’s exactly what Subaru are doing with the BRZ – the Subaru take on the Toyota GT86 – with a price cut of £2,500 arriving from May 1st, thanks to the weakening Yen, that takes the entry-level BRZ down to £23,995.

Aston Martin sales UP in 2013 – new platform being developed

Aston Martin sales and revenue up in 2013 Aston Martin has revealed its results for 2013 – its centenary year – which show the coolest car brand on the planet managed to increase sales by 11 per cent – to around 4,200 cars – and revenue to £519 million, an increase of 13 per cent over 2012. Aston Martin’s earnings before EBITDA (that’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) were up a strong 22 per cent to £84.8 million, demonstrating strong operating profitability, although actual earnings were marginal. But Aston Martin are bullish about the performance, and equally bullish about the future.

The Ford Mustang at 50, Vegas-style

The white-and-red-striped 2014 Shelby GT500 had just 29 miles on it when Tina and Jeff left Green Bay, Wisc. "Now, we've got 2,500," said Tina. They left on April 9, one of three in a convoy of couples celebrating the Ford Mustang: Donna and John in a 2009 candy-apple red GT, Missy and Dave in a 2008 California Special.

Fewer learners crashing mid-test

A CRASH in the midst of your driving test is not a good start to your life on the road, but this year it's being predicted that these calamities will take a huge dive. Research from IntelligentCarLeasing.com reveals a downward trend in mid-test collisions. Last year there were 22% fewer than in 2009.

One Lap of the Web: Remembering the dearly departed

-- With news that Toyota is leaving the great state of California for the greater (by landmass, anyway; your own opinion may vary) state of Texas, it's worth reminding ourselves that Toyota in America started as one lonely building on 6000 Hollywood Blvd., having taken over a former Rambler dealership. (The site is still a successful Toyota dealership.) That first year of sales in 1958 saw 287 Toyopet Crowns and one Land Cruiser sold -- more as curiosities than as practical transportation, we'd wager. -- At any rate, Toyota's move from California to Texas is moving from "one of the most eco-friendly states in the union," according to Ward's Auto, "to the U.S.’s equivalent of China." -- Ten years ago today, the last Oldsmobile rolled off the line at Lansing Car Assembly.

Subaru Cuts Price Of BRZ Sports Car

SUBARU has announced a price cut for its rear-wheel drive coupe, the BRZ. Alongside the sister Toyota GT86 car, the BRZ is pitched at buyers seeking a fun, low cost sports coupe to rival the driving enjoyment offered by more expensive German models. From May the BRZ experience will be £2,500 less expensive, as Subaru is reducing the price to put more distance between it and its newly launched WRX STI model.

Jaguar reveals the Cars & the Stars for the 2014 Mille Miglia

Jodie Kidd in a Jaguar XK 120 ahead of the 2014 Mille Miglia The real Mille Miglia ended in 1957 after a series of crashes saw it cancelled, but it returned in 1977 as the Mille Miglia Storica, a glorious event run over 1,000 miles of beautiful Italian roads featuring cars that ran in the original Mille Miglia. Jaguar has a big history with the Mille Miglia, and has taken to using the annual event to roll out stars to drive its cars for maximum coverage of Jaguar’s Heritage. 2014 is no different – although the number of entries is lower than in previous years – with ten classic Jaguars, including XKs, C-types and one D-type, taking to the Italian roads in May and piloted by a diverse range of star drivers.

How Google's autonomous car navigates city streets

Google's self-driving car has been on the road for five years now, at various levels of autonomy. From the ease and relative serenity of California's arrow-straight highways, the car drove hundreds of thousands of miles with a greater level of concentration and mastery than the wandering attention spans of humans could accomplish. In 2012, Google shifted from the freeways to the cities, navigating a far more convoluted set of challenges: the slow-speed chaos that comes with any city, any suburb, any place with people and cars in it.

Electric cars amped up with £500 million boost

THE GOVERNMENT is to extend the £5,000 grant scheme open to anyone who buys a car with plug-in electric power. It is part of a £500 million move to encourage car owners – and city authorities – to take up the electric car baton and run with it. The initiative will give cities a chance to win government funding to further the sales of electric cars in their areas, for example by allowing them to use bus lanes or park for free.

Want the world’s fastest diesel sports car? Then you need the Trident Icini

The Trident Icini (pictured) is now on sale We saw the Trident Icini at Salon Prive in 2012, and although it looked like it was ready to roll out as the world’s fastest diesel sports car it’s taken two year more to be ready to take orders. But now it’s gone on sale. Three models are on sale – the Iceni, Iceni Magna (it’s a fastback) and Icini Venturer (a sort of estate car) all sporting a 6.6 litre diesel engine which, in standard spec, comes with 395bhp and 700lb/ft of torque.

Beijing Auto Show 2014 – Trends and Overview

With the New York auto show just one week earlier, many carmakers took the decision to use the Beijing show as their preferred choice of launch event. While the NYC expo holds decent sway on the US East coast, it could never hope to compete with the lure of the world's biggest – and fastest expanding – car market. With over 1,300 cars on display from scores of brands – both domestic and foreign – it's a fascinating bazaar of automotive hardware across the entire bandwidth of the industry.

Google hopeful over driverless car

GOOGLE says it has turned a corner in its pursuit of a car that can drive itself. The leader of the technology giant's driverless car project wrote in a blog post that test vehicles are becoming far more adept at city driving. They can already comfortably handle motorways, he said, but city driving presents a virtual obstacle course of pedestrians, cyclists and blind corners.

Citroen Celebrates 80 Years Of The Traction Avant

FRENCH car maker Citroen is celebrating 80 years of its iconic Traction Avant in 2014 with a series of events dedicated to the famous model. Launched in April 1934, the new model – originally christened 7A - revolutionised the automotive world with its low centre of gravity, all steel monocoque body, light weight and radical aerodynamics. As a result, the front-wheel-drive Traction Avant boasted standard-setting characteristics for handling and road holding.