Chevy Oil Dipstick, 6-cylinder, 1949-1954 on 2040-parts.com

Mercedes AMG has best year ever

With car sales plummeting in 2008 (and likely to be worse in 2009) there aren’t many bright spots around. But performance saloons are certainly one of them. As we reported back in December, BMW’s M Division had a cracking year, with sales of nearly 27,000 for the year.

Kia GT4 Stinger concept car due for Detroit Motor Show 2014

Kia It's the season for pre-Detroit Motor Show announcements - and today Kia issued this further teaser image of its new low-slung sports car: the 2014 Kia GT4 Stinger concept car. With overtones of the Audi R8 supercar about its visage, the GT4 Stinger is a rear-wheel drive coupe driven by a punchy 315hp turbocharged engine. Kia is a major player in the US, and this GT4 concept car is designed to worm its way into the affections of American enthusiasts.

2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray: 2013 Detroit Auto Show

Chevrolet has debuted the 2014 Corvette Stingray at the Detroit Motor Show, the most powerful – and fuel efficient – Corvette to date. Revealed at the Detroit Auto Show, the new Corvette – which gets the fabled ‘Stingray’ moniker – comes as standard with a 6.2 litre V8 delivering 450 horses and 450lb/ft of torque which translates in to a properly swift 0-60mph of under four seconds, and yet conspires to offer official economy of 26mpg – just not at the same time. But it looks like the new Corvette may be able to go round corners as well as it goes in a straight line, with a new seven-speed manual ‘box with rev matching driving the power to the rear wheels, and a five position Drive Mode Selector that’s said to tailor 12 vehicle attributes to suit intent and environment.