Buick 401/425 Nailhead on 2040-parts.com

2014 MINI Cooper SD 3-door joins the new MINI range – price from £19,450

The 3-door MINI Cooper SD (pictured) arrives in MINI showrooms in July 2014 When the new 2014 MINI Hatch pricing was revealed back in March, the range consisted of the MINI One, One D, Cooper, Cooper D and Cooper SD. But no sign of the Cooper SD. But now MINI has fixed that with the arrival of the 3-door MINI Cooper SD.

BMW leads Audi, Mercedes-Benz in June global luxury-sales race

BMW AG's core brand topped rivals Audi and Mercedes-Benz, selling 134,432 cars worldwide in June, a rise of 12.3 percent over 2010 figures, the company said today. Mercedes sold a record 120,510 units in June, a rise of 6.4 percent, topping Audi, which saw June sales grew 19 percent to 117,650 cars last month. BMW brand's global deliveries, boosted by sales of the new 5-series sedan and X3 SUV, rose 17.8 percent to 689,861 units in the first six months of the year, ahead of Audi's 17.7 percent rise to 652,950 cars.

Ford's NA Design Director aims to shorten product lifecycles

Peter Horbury, Ford Motor Company North America Design Director, has told Automotive News he intends to shorten product lifecycles at the ailing company from an average five years to three years starting this decade. "We feel there is no value in minor changes but a huge value in major changes," Horbury told the industry weekly. Ford needs to ensure that buyers continue visiting showrooms as the giant automaker struggles to retain market share.