Dorman 911-617 Fuel Vapor Storage Canister on 2040-parts.com

German brands off to strong start in 2011

Robust U.S. car sales this year are helping drive German automakers to significant gains. The Volkswagen division did especially well in April, with 28,542 vehicles sold--a 23 percent increase from the year before.

Gemballa Mirage GT Carbon Edition revealed

Gemballa Mirage GT Carbon Edition Uwe Gemballa and his team are probably the world’s best Porsche Carrera GT Tuners. There have been a number of tuned and pimped versions from them in the last few years (you wonder when they’re going to run out of donor cars  – there were only 1270 ever made), but this one looks particularly good. Based on a standard donor Porsche Carrera GT, the Gemballa Mirage GT Carbon Edition gets a power increase of around 50bhp, taking it to 670bhp (not as mad as some of the Gemballa Carrera GTs have been) and 470lb/ft of torque.

2013 Astra Cabrio caught on video

We have video of the 2013 Opel / Vauxhall Astra Cabriolet on video ahead of its debut at the Paris Motor Show. We’re guessing that even though the 2013 Astra Cabriolet (which will arrive as both the Vauxhall and Opel Cabrio) is due to debut at the Paris Motor Show next month, it won’t be in showrooms until the spring – just in time for another miserable summer. Ahead of that debut, GM Europe are out at the Nurburgring making sure their new soft-top doesn’t wibble wobble too much, resulting in the spy video below.