Ford Mercury Bumber Bumper Inserts on 2040-parts.com

Toyota files for 'Supra' trademark

Adding more grist to the new-Toyota-sports-car mill, the automaker has filed with the USPTO for a “Supra” trademark covering “Automobiles and structural parts thereof.” On one hand, it's routine for companies to protect their dormant trademarks; Toyota previously filed to protect the "Supra" mark back in 2010; that protection expired on January 27th of this year. The new filing was made on Feburary 10th, in the midst of the post-Detroit, FT-1 enthusiast froth. We can't help but hold out hope that there's a bit more weight behind this application than simple maintenance of the status quo.

(Another) Audi A3 e-tron hybrid at Geneva 2013

The Audi A3 e-tron – a hybrid A3 EV based on the A3 Sportback – will debut at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show as a concept. This Audi A3 e-tron isn’t a pointless electric supercar – like the R8 e-tron – or another rollout of the A3 e-tron BEV, but a hybrid A3 with a proper ICE engine coupled to an electric motor, just like the A3 e-tron concept we saw in Shanghai in 2011 That still means a lot of complicated and heavy technology to game the silly official economy tests and come up with ‘official’ economy figures of 158mpg and 35g/km, but the A3 e-tron would – if it were made – offer big tax breaks for company car drivers. The A3 e-tron gets a 1.4 litre direct injection petrol engine good for 148bhp working with an electric motor good for an extra 100bhp.

Nissan holds the sticker price steady on its 2012 Versa hatchback

Nissan said on Monday that the sticker price for the base version of the 2012 Versa hatchback will be the same as that of the 2011 model--$15,140, including shipping charges. The 2012 Versa S hatchback comes standard with a six-speed manual transmission. A four-speed automatic adds $1,000 to the sticker.