Casco Integral De Moto Bieffe. on 2040-parts.com

MINI celebrates 100 years of car production in Oxford

MINI will be celebrating a century of car production in Oxford on 28th March 2013, 100 years since the first Bullnose Morris Oxford was produced. It’s 100 years since the first Bullnose Morris Oxford rolled out on 28th March 1903, since when 11,655,000 cars have been built – with as many as 28,000 people employed in its heyday – and even Tiger Moth planes and Iron Lungs built alongside 80,000 repairs to Spitfires and Hurricanes during WWII. What is now MINI’s Plant Oxford was founded by William Morris – and Morris Motors kept control until 1952 – and has been owned and run by BMC, then British Motor Holdings (when Jaguar arrived), British Leyland (when Leyland Trucks, Triumph and Rover joined), nationalisation in the 1970s saw a variety of names, Rover Group arrived in 1986 and was subsequently privatised and sold in 1994 to BMW.

Aston Martin DBS Ultimate Edition mooted as run-out special

Aston Martin DBS Ultimate Edition planned The Aston Martin DBS is to be refreshed at the end of 2012 and AML look set to produce a run-out model – the DBS Ultimate Edition. There’s no doubt that Aston Martin likes a variation on a theme, and has a real penchant for a limited edition car whenever a suitable occasion can be found. So a run-out model for the current DBS is a given.

Ultrasonic shields may replace wipers on future McLarens

A few weeks ago, the NHTSA issued a recall for all McLaren MP4 12-Cs originally sold or currently owned in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. The reason? The combination of high heat and high humidity may cause wiper motor brushes to fail, something we imagine would be especially inopportune in the middle of a downpour.