Corolla 1.8 1980--1982 Power Steering Hose-gates Brand Quality on 2040-parts.com

How safe are new minicars?

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) recently tested a total of 11 minicars in its relatively new small-overlap crash test, and the Chevrolet Spark was the only one to earn an Acceptable rating. The small-overlap crash test was instituted in 2012 with the goal of better replicating real-life car crashes, most of which don't follow the pattern of traditional government crash tests. Instead of a car hitting a stationary object with 100 percent of its front making contact, the small-overlap test examines how a car behaves in a frontal impact at 40 mph where only a quarter of the car's front hits an object.

Saab seeks court protection from creditors

Saab is filing for protection from creditors from a Swedish district court, the automaker's owner, Swedish Automobile, said Wednesday. Saab is seeking court approval for a voluntary reorganization to secure short-term stability while it waits for funding from Chinese investors Pang Da and Zhejiang Youngman, Swedish Automobile said in a statement. Victor Muller, CEO of both Saab and Swedish Automobile, said in a statement: "We have concluded that a voluntary reorganization process will provide us with the necessary time, protection and stabilization of the business, allowing salary payments to be made, short-term funding to be obtained and an orderly restart of production to be prepared." Muller remains optimistic about Saab's future.

New BMW 2 Series M Performance Parts revealed

The new BMW 2 Series (pictured) gets a range of M Performance Parts The opposite side of the coin from debadging your high-end BMW so no one knows you’re packing a big punch is adding M Performance parts to turn your lowly diesel in to something that looks like it will win every traffic light grand prix going. And when the new BMW 2 Series Coupe – the replacement for the 1 Series Coupe – arrives in the UK in March 2014, buyers will have a wide range of options from the BMW M Performance Parts offerings to tweak the interior and exterior looks, suspension and the engine. Power upgrades are available for the 220d Coupe which increase the output of the 4-cylinder diesel by 16bhp and adds an extra 29lb/ft of torque for a new output of 197bhp and 310lb/ft of torque, despite which official economy figures remain unchanged.