Edelbrock 9630 Hardened Steel/heat Treated Universal Pushrods on 2040-parts.com

Skoda Yeti rolls out

The first Skoda Yeti has rolled of the production line in the Czech Republic - Delivery in the UK starts in September The Skoda Yeti is a promising, rufty-tufty ‘SmallRoader’, based on parent company VW’s Tiguan. But the Skoda holds the promise of more for less, a trick Skoda has managed to pull off with a number of VW products. Skoda has also been out playing with the Yeti in Norway, exposing it to a wide variety of off and on-road surfaces to shake it down properly before the first customer cars are ready for delivery.

Vauxhall / Opel can’t sell to the U.S.

Vauxhall Insignia VXR Sports Tourer won't go on sale in the US Probably the most significant thing so far is that Opel and Vauxhall will not be allowed to sell cars in the US, or indeed in to China. Which does cut out a lot of potential, if not exactly a lot of current, sales possibilities. It makes sense for GM to have made this clause in the sale agreement, but it will hurt the new Magna owned group in the long run.

The scramble for scarce tires

North American automakers are struggling with a nagging shortage of tires, caused in part by tire plant closings and rising demand for low-volume specialty tires. Automakers are paying much higher prices -- double-digit percentage increases from a year ago -- as tire makers gain pricing power. "We have been bombarded from every side for additional tires, and we can't keep up," said David O'Donnell, Continental Tire's vice president of original equipment in the Americas.