Blog on 2040Parts

See what Milwaukee uses for road de-icing

There are a few different ways to make icy roads drivable, including spreading sand and salt on them. Here in Detroit, we use tons and tons (and tons) of rock salt on our crumbling roads in part because we're sitting on unbelievably massive salt deposits. Wisconsin is sitting on massive deposits, too -- of cheese brine.

Mercedes GLC Coupe SUV /Crossover planned

Mercedes GLC Coupe SUV /Crossover planned Four-door coupe versions of saloon cars have become a strong seller in the last few years, and now swoopy coupe SUVs are following the same path after the success of the BMW X6. BMW are building an X3 Coupe in the BMW X4, Mercedes are planning a Coupe version of the ML – the Mercedes MLC – and now they’re heading in to a fight with the BMW X4 by planning a coupe version of the next GLK – the Mercedes GLC. Car & Driver are reporting Mercedes’ plans to build a coupe version of the next GLK – which will already be a lot less boxy than the current GLK – and expected to hit Mercedes showrooms by 2016.

One Lap of the Web: Buy yourself a Bentley 4 1/4 Litre, A Futurliner car hauler and the TagAZ Aquila

-- Forget to get yourself a Christmas gift this year? Why not buy yourself a Bentley? Not all examples of the marque sell for six figures, especially if you look back a few decades into the past.

Video: Listen to the Alfa 4C rev then watch it hit the track

We haven't heard many complaints about the new Alfa Romeo 4C. So far, kvetching has been limited to the fact that Alfa won't produce too many of them, that they won't be free, and that there's no manual transmission option. Also, the headlights are weird.

Museum gives driving lessons in a Ford Model T

Ford Most learner drivers these days take their lessons in a bread-and-butter supermini such as a Vauxhall Corsa or, if they're lucky, a dual-control MINI. But one enterprising car museum in America is giving visitors the chance to drive one of the very earliest mass-production cars ever built: a Ford Model T. The Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan, has a short course offering drivers of any age the chance to learn how to drive this seminal motor car.

F1 drivers supporting Schumacher

F1 DRIVERS from around the world have wished Michael Schumacher a full recovery as he lies in a coma after a skiing accident in France. Martin Brundle, who was Schumacher's team-mate at Benetton in 1992 and 1993, tweeted: "Let's hope Michael Schumacher's ski shunt is not too bad and that he's totally fixable. He's a crazy brave skydiving/bike racing daredevil." Hours later, when the full extent of Schumacher's injuries had become clear, he urged: "Come on Michael, give us one of those race stints at pure qualifying pace to win through, like you used to.

Weather still causing commuter chaos

COMMUTERS had a miserable return to work today as bad weather continued to cause havoc to road travel. A number of major road routes were affected by flooding or by fallen trees, while one lane was closed on the M48 Severn Bridge due to strong winds and a section of the M77 in Glasgow was closed because of flooding. A landslip at Hawick on the Scottish Borders led to hold-ups on the A7, while a section of the A36 in Hampshire was closed due to a fallen tree and fallen power cables.

Chinese car firm set to expand

CHINA’S newest car brand, aimed at the luxury end of the booming Chinese car market, is to release a second model to its range. Qoros, which introduced the 3 Sedan at the 2013 Geneva and Shanghai motor shows, is set to introduce the as-yet unnamed model in March, again at the Geneva show. Among the manufacturer’s claims are that the new car will boast European levels of materials quality, as well as advanced technology like an eight-inch touch-screen display and a Cloud-based infotainment system.

Schumacher in coma after ski crash

RACING DRIVER Michael Schumacher is in a coma after a skiing accident in France. The seven-times Formula One champion crashed while skiing off-piste in the resort of Meribel yesterday and was airlifted to hospital. University Hospital of Grenoble spokesman Jean-Marc Grenier said the 44-year-old German had suffered a serious head injury and remains in a critical condition.

The future of Volvo

"We lost our way," admitted Volvo North America CEO Tony Nicolosi in his New Jersey-honed Italianate accent. Never an easy thing for an executive to confess. "We gotta go back to our roots.

Business groups call for Severn tolls cut

BUSINESS groups are calling for a reduction in the Severn Bridge tolls as soon as the famous structure comes into public ownership. Following the recent announcement that tolls will be set to increase, the Federation of Small Businesses in Wales and the Freight Transport Association (FTA) have called for the tolls to be reduced to a level that only covers maintenance. In a joint statement the groups expressed their concern for the negative impact the increased tolls could have on the southern Welsh economy.

VW & Audi sell 100,000 diesel cars in the USA for the first time

VW & Audi sell 100,000 diesel cars in the USA for the first time Until very recently, a diesel engined car in the USA was as rare as hen’s teeth; Americans felt much the same as we used to about diesel-engined cars – fit only for commercial vehicles. But from a slow start, VW Group of America is gradually changing the mindset of American car buyers and now, 36 years after the first VW diesel was sold in the US, the VW Group have sold more than 100,000 diesel-engined cars in the USA in a year for the first time. With 12 Audi and VW diesel models on offer in the States – including new arrivals Audi arrivals like the Audi Q5 TDI, A6 TDI, A7 TDI and A8 TDI models – its seems the USA may now be heading down the route the UK went a few years ago, where a majority of car buyers in the UK feel the default buy is a diesel.

Audi takes a dig at BMW, Lexus & Mercedes in new video commercials

Audi takes a dig at BMW, Lexus & Mercedes in new video commercials We’ve had a little spat between Jaguar and Mercedes recently over Mercedes’ Chicken Magic Body Control, with Jaguar’s Big Cat eating Mercedes MBC Chicken and now, ahead of what seems a likely airing in the Super Bowl advert slots, Audi is taking a pop at everyone. Audi are bigging-up the Audi A3 saloon ahead of its arrival in the USA with a quartet of commercials demonstrating the regret buyers have if they’ve already opted for a Mercedes, BMW or Lexus. We get a video on ‘Luxury Car Abstinence’, one of ‘Shame’, one on Buyer’s Remorse’ and one on ‘Lessons’ with the theme being that you should save yourself for the best – the Audi A3 Saloon – and not bother with the also-rans.

CEO Krafcik leaves Hyundai, succeded by Zuchowski

Hyundai Motor America said John Krafcik will step down as CEO at year end, capping a five-year run during which he steered the Hyundai brand to record U.S. sales and market share. Krafcik will be succeeded by Dave Zuchowski, currently Hyundai's executive vice president of U.S.

Concept Car of the Week: Lincoln Sentinel (1996)

After a decade of the rounded forms of bio-design, car manufacturers worldwide wondered what the next big trend would be. Ford's answer appeared in 1995 with the breathtaking GT90 that inaugurated the experimental 'Edge Design' era, defined by its use of precise edges, tight lines and sharp graphics. The following year, Lincoln unveiled an evolution of the same theme, this time on a luxurious flagship concept rather than an open supercar.

One Lap of the Web: 1980s collectibles, McLaren F1 video and snow tires for all

-- It may not be the newest supercar, but few would argue the McLaren F1's place near the top of the all-time greats list. Now you can relive the car's 241-mph top speed run from 1998 in this full-length video. -- Hagerty's Jonathan Stein considers now-classic cars and the joys of using them as they were intended: In the white stuff with a set of snow tires.

New Qoros at Geneva 2014 – looks like a Crossover/SUV

New Qoros at Geneva 2014 – looks like a Crossover/SUV Chinese car maker Qoros – hoping to make inroads in to the European market with its Qoros 3 saloon – is heading for the Geneva Motor Show in March with a new model, teased today in a pair of photos. Qoros’s first production model – the Qoros 3 – arrived in production guise at Geneva this year as a convincing – if generic -looking – four-door saloon, which we did think an odd route to go to break in to Europe. But the next Qoros – previewed here in a couple of teaser photos – looks to be a production version of the Qoros Cross Hybrid Concept Qoros showed at Geneva and a much better route to grabbing a slice of Europe’s car sales.

Hyundai & Kia to spend up to $395 million on lump sum fuel settlements

Hyundai & Kia to spend up to $395 on lump sum fuel settlements Back in 2012, Hyundai and Kia had to stand up and accept that they’d overstated the official economy of a number of their models and attempt to put things right. They did that by offering all buyers of affected cars a compensation plan which repaid owners for their losses over expectation, added 15 per cent for good measure and made that ongoing for the lifetime of the ownership. But this is the USA, so it wasn’t all as straightforward as that.

Paul Walker talks about the Lexus LFA

Our friends at Lexus, spurred by our reminiscing, sent us this interview conducted with Paul Walker when he drove the Lexus LFA at Willow Springs earlier this year. It hasn't yet been released on Lexus' official channels, and we would be remiss not to share it. He loved the car.

Qoros to launch second model at 2014 Geneva Motor Show

Qoros The second car to be built by the fledgling Qoros car maker will be revealed at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show, the Chinese firm announced today. These new pictures are the first sight of the new model, which will go on sale in China in 2014. Although only these two shadowy teaser images have been published, they appear to show a bigger family car, perhaps an SUV.

Four-door BMW 4-series Gran Coupe revealed in renderings?

Another day, another upcoming car revealed thanks to a leaked patent filing -- and another BMW model variant to memorize: f30post.com has renderings of what looks to be the four-door BMW 4-series Gran Coupe, originally posted at the Chinese-language site autohome.com.cn. No, your eyes do not deceive you, nor are you going crazy. This is, or at least appears to be, a four-door version of the car that BMW created as the dedicated two-door replacement for the now-discontinued 3-series coupe.

Automotive review of 2013: the best - and worst - cars and motoring moments

This year marked the 60th anniversary of the Corvette, and Chevrolet marked the occasion in style by launching an all-new model back in January 2013 – the seventh generation of the 'Vette. Instantly recognisable as a Corvette, the new model packs a 6.2-litre V8 rated at 460bhp. Best of all though is the news that the road racer will reach UK dealerships next autumn, priced from £61,495.

Honda's Rose Parade float to break length record

Soichiro Honda's company built its reputation on the backs of reliable, efficient, rather diminutive things. The Super Cub/Passport motorcycle. The wee 600s and the slightly larger original Civic.

Infiniti Q50 hit by steer-by-wire recall in the US

Infiniti has issued a recall notice in the US for a small number of Q50 models fitted with the firm’s new Direct Adaptive Steering system. This is a ‘steer-by-wire’ steering system that only has a mechanical link between the steering wheel and the wheels as a back-up. The rest of the time the steering is operated by electronics, rather than a direct connection.

Iconic Volkswagen Kombi camper not dead yet

In what would be the perfect present for thousands of Volkswagen fans across the globe, rumours are circulating that the iconic Kombi vancould be set for a comeback. What’s even more remarkable is the fact the news comes just two days before production of the VW Kombi was set to end, bringing to a close 63 years of history. On Bing: see pictures of the Volkswagen Kombi Van The end of the road for Volkswagen’s classic Camper van Earlier this year, Volkswagen do Brasil announced that the Kombi Last Edition would – as its name suggests – draw a curtain on the legendary Dub’s run, which includes 56 years of production on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Porsche 911 Safari SUV Crossover heading for Beijing Motor Show

Porsche 911 Safari SUV Crossover heading for Beijing Motor Show Porsche anoraks bemoaned the arrival of the Porsche Cayenne SUV as a sacrilege, but its overwhelming success has allowed Porsche to garner huge profits and plough a chunk of those in to keeping the iconic 911 relevant, appealing and cutting-edge. It’s also allowed Porsche to take the Audi Q5 and turn it in to what appears to be a hugely capable and appealing baby Cayenne in the guise of the new Porsche Macan, but it seems Porsche is planning another SUV step with a model that really does seem a  step too far – a Porsche 911 SUV. Auto Bild’s Motor Revue is reporting that a Porsche 911 Safarai is heading for the Beijing Motor Show in April 2014 sporting bigger wheels and tyres and a raised suspension to deliver a 911 Crossover.

New Mercedes C-Class AMG Line revealed

New Mercedes C-Class AMG Line revealed The 2014 Mercedes C-Class was revealed just last week – and is heading to the Detroit Auto Show next month for its public debut – and it will be joined by this, the 2014 Mercedes C-Class AMG Line. Mercedes AMG Line models are the easy way to make your new diesel-engined C-Class look much more like the C 63 AMG than its prosaic engine would suggest to the casual observer and will be a popular option for those getting a bog-standard C-Class – with its low BIK rates – on the company. The photos of the new C-Class AMG Line come from Mercedes-Benz Passion Blog and show that the AMG Line C-Class gets exactly what you’d expect with a butch front bumper, side skirts, rear diffuser, sports suspension, 18″ AMG alloys, AMG grill and chrome trim.

Eighty years of major motion…from Nissan

Today, Dec. 26, 2013, Nissan claims to celebrate 80 years of "moving people with innovative and exciting cars," according to a tersely worded press release. But like all stories, the press release is only the happy, corporate-sanitized version: the real story is a bit more involved than that.

Range Rover the must-have car this Christmas?

Eartha Kitt may have asked ‘Santa Baby’ for a ’54 convertible for Christmas, but when it comes to the rest of us, it would appear that British is best. That’s according to a survey of 55,000 petrolheads by airport and online car competitions company, Best of the Best. In the poll, not only did the Range Rover claim top spot, it also grabbed third and fourth position, with only the Aston Martin Vantage stopping the luxury off-roader from making it a perfect one, two, three.

Merry Christmas 2013 from all at Cars UK

Merry Christmas 2013 from all at Cars UK It’s that time of year when, whatever your beliefs, it’s a great excuse to kick back, relax, enjoy good food and drink and chill. So, even though we run regular car news every other day of the year, we get let off the leash to scatter to family gatherings and forget the travails of reporting the latest car news on Christmas Day. This year, just as we have in many previous years, we bring you Bernie Ecclestone’s take on Christmas 2013, the usual Bernie cartoon take on what’s been his event of the year in F1.