Crown Automotive 4470365 Steering Gear Seal Kit on 2040-parts.com

GM shifts gears, will keep Opel

General Motors' board of directors has decided that it will keep the Opel business and restructure it, putting an end to plans to sell the European operations to auto supplier Magna International. GM said it expects the restructuring of Opel to cost $4.42 billion (3 million euros), which it says is lower than the costs associated with outside bids for the company. GM said it will soon present its restructuring plans for Opel to the German government and other governments in Europe.

Chris Economaki was one of the good guys

I'm really going to miss Chris Economaki, who died this morning around midnight, 91 years young. Elsewhere on this site, you'll find writer Leo Levine's excellent tribute to Chris. In it, he pays compliments to Chris such as “he left a hole in the motorsports firmament that can never be filled.

New Ford Focus ST is Europe’s best selling hot hatch.

The new Ford Focus ST has become the best selling hot hatch in Europe in the last three months, outselling the Golf GTi and Renault Megane Sport. But the new Focus ST finally went on sale last summer, and started arriving in Ford’s UK showrooms in the Autumn, as the ST finally hit Europe’s roads. At a starting price of £21,995, a more aggressive look and decent performance – 0-62mph in 6.5 seconds – the new Focus ST is an appealing performance bargain, even if 250 horses through the front wheels is a big ask.