Blog on 2040Parts

2014 Toyota Highlanders recalled over seatbelt issue

Toyota has announced a recall of a number of 2014 Highlander SUVs, citing issues with one of the seat belts. Specifically, the seat belt assembly in the middle seat of the third row may not have been properly attached to a floor anchorage during factory assembly. The affected vehicles were built from November 20, 2013, to January 18, 2014.

Stress and strife of the school run

SCHOOL RUN WARS are rife, with parents prepared to squabble over parking spaces and argue with their children, according to a survey. As many as 23% of mothers and fathers admitted blocking another parent in with their vehicle and 14% owned up to cutting someone up, the poll of more than 3,000 motorists by Auto Trader showed. Also, 16% of parents have argued with other mothers and fathers on the school run and 53% have had rows with their children.

Honda revises Civic Si for 2014

When the 2014 Honda Civic Si goes on sale March 12, it'll carry a base price of $23,580, including destination. That gets you a bit more power over previous editions of the Si, plus some styling upgrades and extra tech. The new Civic rides on 18-inch alloy wheels -- one inch bigger than last year.

Future Audis may time traffic lights for you

Here's a trick efficiency-chasing hypermilers have been using for years: spotting the cycles of stoplights from 100 to 200 yards out and letting the car coast up to the light just before it turns green, then carrying on without ever letting the car come to a complete stop. These hypermilers, along with professional truck drivers, do this because they know that accelerating from a standstill burns the greatest amount of fuel, and because letting a car coast up to the light with the automatic transmission downshifting by itself is easier on the transmission than stomping on the brakes right beneath the stoplight. Oh, and it's easier on the brake pads as well.

One Lap of the Web: A rally car drinks beer

-- Thierry Neuville was somewhere on his way back to the pits after finishing the final stage of the WRC Mexico when his Hyundai i20 rally car sprung a leak: The hole in the radiator was bleeding coolant at a frightening rate. If Neuville didn't make the 33 kilometers back, he would lose his second place standing behind Volkswagen and all would be lost. (Alas, them's the breaks in the sometimes-quixotic rulebook of the World Rally Championship.) Well, lucky for Neuville, his sponsors at Corona had presented him with a massive bottle of beer, which he then proceeded to pour into the radiator.

Banksy 'Car Plant' work for sale

AN ART GALLERY wants to sell a work created at an abandoned Detroit car plant by the elusive British graffiti artist Banksy. 555 Nonprofit Gallery and Studios co-founder Carl Goines said proceeds from the sale would go to expand the gallery's programming. Mr Goines said he's hoping the Banksy work will bring in between 200,000 to 1.2 million dollars (£120,000 to £720,000), which he says is the range of recent sales.

One in six drivers 'top 100mph'

ONE IN SIX (17%) of drivers admits to driving at more than 100mph on the motorway regularly in the UK, even though the speed limit is 70mph. More than twice that number (38%) own up to driving at above 90mph, while 11% say they speed at 50mph or more in residential and urban areas where there is a 30mph speed limit. Research by Direct Line shows 61% of drivers have also exceeded the 20mph limit.

Poll: what should be done with donated Dodge Vipers?

Last week Chrysler sent letters to a number of colleges ordering them to crush the remaining Dodge Vipers that they have in their custody, in accordance with the agreement entered into by the carmaker and a number of vocational school when Chrysler donated the cars. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the interet got wind of this and blew a head gasket. How could early pre-production Vipers be ordered to the crusher when they're...

Government promises £140 million for pothole patch-up

AP The government has promised an extra £140 million to help local councils patch up potholes on Britain’s roads. This includes those damaged in the major flooding that occured during Christmas and early February. Local authorities that suffered the worst of the recent flooding will receive £36.5 million to help repair flood-ruined roads, while the rest of the money will be doled out by the Department for Transport (DfT).

Jaguar plots new flagship coupe as XK bows out (2014)

By Ollie Kew and Georg Kacher Motor Industry 10 March 2014 15:00 Jaguar has announced that the XK will cease production in summer 2014. The Ian Callum-penned coupe and convertible models, which have jointly sold more than 54,000 units since arriving in 2006, have been canned with no direct replacement in the pipeline. Instead, Jaguar is plotting a stunning £110,000 flagship to rival the Aston Martin DB9 and Bentley Continental GT.

BMW i8 plug-in hybrid supercar is more economical than BMW thought

The BMW i8 does 134.5mpg on the official cycle. The production version of BMW’s plug-in hybrid supercar – the i8 – finally arrived at the Frankfurt Motor Show last year offering almost proper supercar price – £100k – along with an almost supercar 0-62mph of 4.4 seconds. What the i8 also offers is ridiculous economy figures thanks to its plug-in hybrid power (and thanks to the daft way official economy figures are calculated) and now, as the i8 gets ready to go in to full production, BMW has revealed that the official economy figures have just got dafter.

Audi Traffic Light Recognition could save you money

Audi Traffic Light Recognition system (pictured) could save you money In the never ending quest to reduce fuel consumption – and, by definition, emissions – car makers are looking for every angle that might help. And Audi has come up with a traffic light recognition system they reckon could be good for a 15 per cent fuel saving. Sadly, Audi’s traffic light system doesn’t work by changing the lights to green as you get to them, but it is able to work out traffic light sequences and help you plan ahead.

The best new-car discounts and deals: March's biggest savings

With the 14-registration plate change in March, dealers and manufacturers will be expecting to build on a strong start to the year. To do that they’ll have to discount. Here’s our pick of the biggest new car discounts available.

BMW displays Calder art car, racers and classics at Amelia Island

The first BMW art car -- a 1975 3.0 CSL wearing a paint job designed by Alexander Calder -- headlined a class of significant cars from the German automaker at the 2014 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance. It was joined by a BMW M-powered McLaren F1 GTR, a first-generation 320i, winners of the 1975 12 Hours of Sebring, a BMW 320 Turbo race car, and the first BMW convertible. The Calder art car is the first in a series that has spanned more than 40 years of Roundel history.

'Forza' Alpinestars pack available now

The “Forza Motorsport” Alpinestars Car Pack went live online last week. That means players are already cruising around the game's 15 circuits in an assortment of cars from BMW, Toyota, Radical, Mercedes, Ferrari and more. The 1999 #3 Toyota Motorsports GT-ONE TS020 is now available in "Forza Motorsport 5." Let's start with the race cars, including the 1999 #3 Toyota Motorsports GT-ONE TS020.

Next Volvo infotainment system will look like an iPhone

After more than a decade of disparate and clunky systems that have tried to force their ways of doing things upon our already-overloaded brains, it appears that smartphones and cars are finally going to be friends, after all. And by that, we don't mean that it's suddenly OK to text and drive. Rather, the infotainment systems in cars are finally going to have operating systems that mirror those of smartphones as they interact with your own phone.

Record Breaker Aiming High With Audi

NOT content with falling out of a balloon from a great height, Austrian extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner is tackling his next big challenge on the famous Nordschleife circuit of the Nurburgring in Germany. Teaming up with Audi, the Austrian will obtain a racing license and become a driver with the Audi race experience team for the grueling Nurburgring 24 Hours in June. He’ll also be swapping his recording-breaking balloon for a race-prepared Audi R8.

Modified Mercedes turned to gold

GERMAN tuning firms are known for occasionally crossing the barriers of taste, but this latest offering from Carlsson appears to have gone into new territory. Called the CS50 Versailles – after the Palace of Versailles that King Louis XIV turned into a opulent chateau – it’s based on the latest generation Mercedes-Benz S-Class, which is hardly a car short on luxury. But that hasn’t stopped Carlsson turning it into an automotive homage to gold.

One Lap of the Web: Mister Kei-terham

-- This Maybach 62 -- which sold for new at the eyeball-detonating price of $467,600 -- has driven around our fair planet a total of one million kilometers. For those who don't believe in Commie measurements, that's 621,000 miles -- or a trip to the moon and back and then halfway there again. Josef Weikinger, from Lichtenstein, loved his 2004 Maybach 62 so much that he found himself watching the odometer click upwards instead of replacing it for something newer and flashier.

Honda petitioned to bring Civic Type-R Turbo stateside

Change.org is a website that helps users make petitions. Taking a quick tour, we spot petitions to free prisoners, plenty of social justice-type petitions, and then there are the ones from car guys. We’re not saying the petition to “Bring the 2015 Honda Civic Type-R VTEC Turbo to North America” isn’t world-changing.

Ford moves upmarket with new Mustang, Edge and Vignale sub-brands

Ford Britain's biggest carmaker is fighting back against increased competition from budget brands from below and executive makes from above with an aggressive expansion, which will see it launch three new models by the end of 2015. Ford is about to introduce models popular in the US over here to stretch its product line-up above the £30,000 threshold. At last week's Geneva Motor Show, the company showed the new Mustang sports car as well as the new Edge crossover (above).

Driving 'too pricey' for the young

A THIRD of young people say driving is not too expensive and they will not bother to learn to drive or buy a car. A study of 17- to 25-year olds found a third (35%) had decided against driving or owning a car because of the expense involved. Many cited the cost of driving lessons as a disincentive and they also believe it is cheaper to use public transport than own a car themselves.

Buy a Spyker Bond and get a cheap Spyker B6 Venator

Buy a Spyker Bond and get a cheap B6 Venator (pictured) Last year, Victor Muller seemed to have pulled off something of a coup for Spyker by delivering concepts of the B6 Venator Coupe and Spyder to much acclaim, which looked like a car that could kick-start Spyker’s rather troubled business model. After a foray in to Saab ownership, Victor Muller lost Spyker to CPP, but CPP’s reliance on finance from Victor’s pal Vlad the banker proved to be CPP’s downfall and Victor emerged, somehow, back in control of Spyker. But despite Victor’s legendary ability to schmooze finance from the most unlikely sources, it seems he’s run in to a bit of trouble with financing production of the Venator, so he’s come up with a plan that looks to be a cross between a lottery and crowd funding.

New Range Rover ‘Ultimate’ and Range Rover Sport RS confirmed

The Range Rover Autobiography Black (pictured) The arrival of the new Range Rover in 2012 pushed the Range Rover even more upmarket, with the £100k Range Rover becoming a norm and some buyers speccing their RRs way beyond that. Land Rover has already responded to the obvious desire of buyers to make their Range Rovers more and more opulent with the arrival of the Range Rover Autobiography Black (pictured above) with an even greater standard spec and a longer wheelbase too. But now it seems Land Rover are starting to ready themselves for the inevitable arrival of Bentley’s SUV in the next couple of years (and probably and SUV from Rolls Royce too) with an even higher spec model.

William Clay Ford Sr.'s death: Leaders and sports world react

William Clay Ford Sr., who died on Sunday at the age of 88, served in numerous positions at the Ford Motor Company, including 32 years as chairman of the Design Committee, and became chairman of the Executive Committee in 1978. Comments on the death of Ford, the last surviving grandchild of automotive pioneer Henry Ford and owner of the NFL's Detroit Lions: "The Fords are among Michigan's iconic, founding families, and he was an innovator in the family tradition as well as a strong leader. Like his grandfather, he was passionate about automobiles and the auto industry, the city of Detroit and his family.

Top Gear Tonight: Burma Road Trip – yes, it’s Top Gear Christmas in March

Wet in Burma in part 1 of the Top Gear Christmas Special Top Gear tonight – episode 6 of series 21 – isn’t actually part of the regular series twenty one (that was done and dusted with last week’s Porsche 918 Spyder episode) but is the first part of a two part Christmas Special Road Trip. Yes, March is a bit late for a Christmas Special, but it’s becoming the Top Gear norm. What isn’t normal is the fact that there are no cars for Messrs Clarkson, Hammond and May to drive, instead they’re all in beaten up trucks bought sight unseen from the internet for a road trip across Burma to the River Kwai.

McLaren 650s Configurator goes live

The McLaren 650S Configurator The new McLaren 650S arrived at the Geneva Motor Show last week – and as the 650S Spider too – and looks, and performs, far better than the 12C. That seems to point to the McLaren 12C being allowed to whither on the vine as McLaren’s customers opt for the new 650S instead of the 12C – even with a price difference heading towards £20k – although officially you can still buy a 12C (although we hear 12C production has been halted). We hear McLaren have already built a number of 650S models and now they’ve even got the 650S Configurator up on their website so customers – and dreamers – can spec up their new 650S.

Tom Medley 1920-2014

Tom Medley, best known as the creator of the hapless and humorous hot hero Stroker McGurk, passed away March 2 of natural causes in Los Angeles at the age of 93. While Medley was best known for his McGurk character, he was part of the media empire that was Hot Rod magazine from just after its inception until his retirement 37 years later. Medley was a photographer as well as a cartoonist, covering the first Bonneville speed week and the Indy 500 from 1950 to 1964.

Jaguar XK bites the dust – XK production to end this summer

The last Jaguar XK – the Jaguar XK Dynamic R The Jaguar XK is the oldest car in Jaguar’s model lineup and the last real remnant of ‘old’ Jaguar. And it’s about to cease production. Jaguar has announced the XK will end production this summer as sales fall away and the XK struggles to make sense against the new Jaguar F-Type, a situation that will only worsen when the F-Type Coupe starts to arrive in customer hands.

Jordan sells off Formula One collection

FORMULA ONE commentator and former team boss Eddie Jordan is selling off his collection of racing cars and memorabilia to raise money for charity. The sale includes the very first Jordan F1 car that driven by Michael Schumacher. It comes complete with the German driver’s original racing helmet that Schumacher signed and gave to Eddie Jordan as a souvenir.