Ford Taurus Heater Motor 08 09 on 2040-parts.com

Magna gets Vauxhall and Opel

Canadian parts maker Magna takes control of Opel and Vauxhall The German Government is to supply funding of €1.5 billion to help the new Opel/Vauxhall operation to finance the transition. The news hasn’t come a moment too soon, as the US Government had given GM only until Monday to resolve the issue before the likely bankruptcy of GM. The Opel/Vauxhall operation will now be ring-fenced from the insolvency of its former parent in the US and will become ana entity in its own right.

New Volvo P1800 revealed by Volvo’s chief designer

Volvo P1800 re-imagined Volvo’s Chief Designer at its Monitoring and Concept Centre has recreated the iconic Volvo P1800 for the 21st century to celebrate its 50th anniversary. The Volvo P1800 is perhaps the most stylish car Volvo has ever produced, and 2011 marks the 50th anniversary of the most unlikely of Volvos; a Volvo that was to The Saint what the Aston Martin DB5 was to James Bond. Designed to be eye candy for Volvo dealers hoping for more footfall in showrooms full of Amazons, the P1800 was designed by Pelle Petterson – the son of Volvo consultant Helmer Petterson and the driving force behind the Volvo P1800 project - who worked for Italian designers Pietro Frau.

Roger Moore’s Aston Martin DBS from The Persuaders up for sale at Bonhams (+video)

Lord Brett Sinclair’s Aston Martin DBS V8 from The Persuaders For those of a certain age, the 1970s TV show The Persuaders evokes fond memories of Roger Moore as Brett Sinclair and Tony Curtis as Danny Wilde fighting crime on the French Riviera and driving an Aston Martin DBS and Ferrari Dino respectively. Now, more than 40 years since The Persuaders was aired, the Aston Martin DBS used by Brett Sinclair is to be offered for sale publicly for the first time at Bonhams Aston Martin works sale in May. With The Persuaders the most glamorous and expensive of Lew Grade’s TV adventures, the Aston Martin DBS was the perfect fit for Lord Brett Sinclair’s character (although the Tony Curtis/Danny Wilde Dino wasn’t exactly top-drawer Ferrari) and Aston Martin worked with ITC to make everything work for the show.