Cessna Control Cable 0510105-94 on 2040-parts.com

New car sales accelerate again

NEW CAR SALES could be back to pre-recession levels by the end of this year after a good start to 2014. Latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show there were 176,820 new vehicles registered in April - an 8.2% rise on the same month last year. Last month's figure took the total for the year so far to 864,942 - a 12.5% increase on the first four months of 2013.

Vauxhall Astra VXR (2012) gets 282bhp + new GTC photos

Astra GTC Concept Paris Vauxhall sneaked us a peek at the 2012 Vauxhall Astra VXR a couple of weeks ago – slightly titivated and called the Astra GTC Concept admittedly – but the 2012 Vauxhall Astra VXR none the less. And we ran the story, even though there was precious little to say beyond they’d turned the ‘blades’ round on the doors to make it look more butch and that it’d turn up when the 3 door Astra does in a years time. But Vauxhall has decided to throw a little more out there, so we get images of the interior and some firm (ish) news on the oily bits.

2010 Jaguar XJ Neiman Marcus special edition sells out all 50 copies

It took all of four hours and four minutes for a special Neiman Marcus edition of the redesigned 2010 Jaguar XJ to sell out through the retail giant's Christmas book on Friday. Just 50 copies of the big cat, called the XJL Supercharged Neiman Marcus edition, will be produced. And they're all spoken for after brisk sales reservations last week.