Chrysler Products Nos 1994-1999 Interior Lamp Housing on 2040-parts.com

Next-gen Passat to offer hybrid and twin-turbo power

VOLKSWAGEN is going even more upmarket with the all-new version of the Passat, which is due to hit showrooms later this year. Soon buyers will be able to include a plug-in hybrid and an all-new 2.0-litre twin-turbo diesel among their forecourt options, as VW goes chasing after its sister company Audi. Weight-saving measures have chopped up to 85kg from the new kid on a like-for-like basis, which helps achieve VW's stated efficiency boosts of 20% versus equivalent outgoing Passats.

Fords at SEMA – A Preview

Ford has the biggest display space of any manufacturer at SEMA – 27,000 square feet – and plans to pack it with every kind of truck, tuner and Transit Connect. Yes, this year at SEMA Ford will have ten customized Transit Connect small business haulers in a celebration it's calling “Vandemonium.” So far we have a picture of just of one of them, the “TC – Pentech,” a Transit Connect with two driving simulators in the back. Info on the other nine hasn't been released yet but suffice to say Vandemonium could make the Transit Connect the PC Cruiser of the new millennium.

Concept Car of the Week: Mercedes-Benz C111, C111-II and C111-IID

In 1962, Mercedes-Benz launched a research program to investigate the development of the Wankel rotary engine and its potential both on the road and track. While the early mule wasn't a looker, the prototype's design continued to evolve until a public unveiling of the C111-I concept, designed by Bruno Sacco, at the 1969 Frankfurt motor show. The coupé may have looked like the systematic further development of the Sport Light models from the ‘50s with its gullwing doors, but it wasn't a design study for a new SL.