Freightliner Cascadia Lite Gard Grill on 2040-parts.com

Nissan NV3500 passenger van promises quiet and safety

Early this year Nissan introduced a full-sized commercial panel van that's offered in two flavors -- standard and tall; as in, you can walk around the interior. So it was just a matter of time until Nissan targeted the hotel shuttle and church bus crowd with a windowed passenger model using that platform. First impression is that Nissan's windowed van is a very credible competitor for a segment that has been dominated by the Ford E-series and the Chevrolet Express, and to a lesser degree by the GMC Savana and Mercedes-Benz and Freightliner Sprinter.

BARONS ENDS YEAR ON HIGH

AUCTION HOUSE Barons has celebrated a successful classic car auction with 44 successful sales and a 1959 Aston Martin DB MKIII DHC making £175,000. The classic Aston had belonged to the same family since it was three-months-old and was joined by another DB MKIII example, a rolling restoration project that fetched £70,000. Another notable sale was a "time-warp" 1970 Ford Escort Delux MkI, which had covered just 2,600 miles in 40 years.

Aston Martin Zagato (2011) anniversary concept

Aston Martin is teaming up with Italian design house Zagato again to mark the 50th anniversary of the DB4 GT Zagato with a new Zagato-bodied V12 Vantage. Only this solitary teaser image has been published so far, revealing the shape of the new 2011 Aston Martin V12 Vantage Zagato - which is likely to make production. The car will be shown at the Villa D’Este concours in Italy on 21 May 2011 – and Aston Martin promises this starts a new working relationship with Zagato, suggesting further models will be forthcoming.