Gm Oem Part 10372246 Fuel Tank Filller Cap (shelf A31 Bin 7) on 2040-parts.com

India turns the screw on luxury car makers

Land Rover will still be sending CKD to India despite the rise in import duty India’s economy is growing almost exponentially, as a result of which it has a big, rising middle-class with much the same aspirations as the middle-class in the West. Those aspirations include the accumulation of status symbols considered worthy of representing their success and new wealth, none more so than a good set of wheels. So it’s no surprise that the mainstream luxury car makers – Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes, Audi and BMW – are ready, willing and able to provide exactly what India’s middles classes are looking for.

BMW Concept5 X5 eDrive revealed. It’s a plug-in Hybrid X5

The BMW Concept5 X5 eDrive (pictured) will debut at Frankfurt The arrival of the BMW Concept X5 eDrive ahead of its debut at Frankfurt next month doesn’t preview and immediate addition to the X5 range of a plug-in hybrid, but it does show what will be on offer in a year or two. Just like yesterday’s Mercedes S500 plug-in hybrid, the X5 eDrive is another example of how car makers have developed their way round CO2 taxation levels by throwing electric motors at ICE engines to create a car that offers impressive emissions and economy on official tests. In the case of the X5 eDrive that means a four-cylinder twin power ICE engine (BMW aren’t saying, but we’re assuming its a petrol engine), a 94bhp electric motor and a lithium-ion battery under the boot all working together to produce an X5 that is capable (at least in official tests, which is all that matters) of 74.3mpg and emissions under 90g/km.

Testa Rossas, Lemons, Laguna Seca and design inspiration – Monterey Car Week 2014

As a first timer to this annual festival it’s easy to think of it purely as Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. However, in reality the blue-chip show on the famous golf course is simply the climax of a whole week of formal events, impromptu gatherings and an overall sense of overwhelming from the sheer quantity and quality of the cars, all packed onto this upmarket West Coast peninsular.It's this variety that means this event really is what you make of it. Want to live it up like a billionaire and feel the buzz of $400million worth of cars pass under the auctioneers’ hammers, followed by some lobster and champagne in the golf club?