Gates 42285 Water Pump-water Pump (standard) on 2040-parts.com

Russian and American military vehicles in Ukrainian ex-president's collection

Last week the world got a glimpse of Ukrainian ex-president Viktor Yanukovych's surprisingly eclectic car collection, which included dozens of cars that have never been exhibited in any museum or classic car show outside the former USSR. The sprawling garage at the Mezhyhirya villa became public only last weekend, hours after Yanukovych's nighttime escape by helicopter to Russia. Hundreds of ordinary citizens and journalists from all around the world strode freely into the villa, finding an abundance of abandoned wealth, some of which was even tasteful.

2013 VW Beetle Convertible arrives

The new 2013 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible has been revealed ahead of a launch at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November. The new Beetle Convertible is due to bow in at the LA Auto Show in November  but VW obviously decided it was pragmatic to get an early reveal out of the way before the new Bug soft top trickled on to the Interwebs of its own accord. What we get is what we expected (although we did hold out a little hope the new Beetle Cabriolet would look more like the E-Bugster Cabriolet Concept); a convertible version of the 2012 Beetle with a pram style soft top that sits on the boot.

White Van Man numbers booming

THE ADVANCE of White Van Man is accelerating, according to figures highlighted by the RAC Foundation. Between 2002 and 2012 the number of light vans on the roads increased by 29% to 3.3 million. During the same period, the increase in cars was 11%, with one in 10 vehicles on the roads now a light commercial vehicle.