Daihatsu's funky Cube rival on the way

By Ben Whitworth Motor Industry 29 September 2006 08:01 Daihatsu is on the verge of giving its boxy Materia supermini – which made its European debut in Paris - the green light for UK imports. If given the green light the spacious five-seater, which is already on sale in Japan, would arrive here next spring as a stand-alone topend model. The Materia is very similar to Nissan's does-it-exactly-what-it-says-on-the-tin Cube, which has been super popular with Japanese kids.

Jaguar F-Type Coupe revealed – sort of

But, as expected, Jaguar are heading full tilt towards a production F-Type Coupe that will follow the lines of the appealing CX-16, as evidenced by the patent image filings (above) acquired by Auto Motor und Sport. The show an F-Type Coupe that delivers almost all of the style the CX-16 did – just as Land Rover managed when they turned the LRX in to the Range Rover Evoque – which will disappoint no one. In fact, the coupe – with its roof line flowing down from the A-pillar right to the tail – is better looking than the Roadster and more evocative of the E-Type.

GM recalls 1.5 million vehicles for oil leak

General Motors is recalling nearly 1.5 million Buick, Chevrolet, Oldsmobile and Pontiac mid-sized cars equipped with a 3.8-liter engine because an oil leak could start an engine fire. Under hard braking, engine oil could leak past a heat shield and drip on the exhaust manifold. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that could start a small fire that could spread to a plastic spark plug wire guide and beyond.