Johnson 25hp 4-stroke Oil Level Gauge P/n 5031988 on 2040-parts.com

New car sales hit ten year high – Toyota Yaris breaks in to top 10

The Toyota Yaris accounted for over 20% of hybrid sales in March 2014 We’ve got used to new car sales (well, new car registrations) hitting new highs month after month, but March 2014 managed to top even the recent levels with the highest monthly registrations in a decade. March is normally the year’s highest new car month with the ‘year’ plate change coming in, with almost 20 per cent of cars registered in that month alone (it used to be August when  there was just one plate change a year) and 2014 saw a jump of nearly 18 per cent over 2013, and the highest total since March 2014. Still sitting atop the list is the Ford Fiesta (25,753) with more than 50 per cent more sales than the second place Ford Focus (16,860), with the usual suspects taking up the rest of the top ten (full top ten sales for March 2014 below).

Williams F1 sells Williams Hybrid Power to GKN for £8 million

GKN have bought williams Hybrid Power in an £8 deal Back in 2010 we reported on a flywheel developed by Williams F1 that recoups energy from braking, and was fitted to a Porsche 911 GT3 to give an extra boost of power. Williams F1 developed the Flywheel technology with a start-up company, which it bought out for £1.5 million in 2010, and now that company – which became Williams Hybrid Power – has been sold to GKN in a deal worth £8 million – and a share of sales revenue going forward – and is being renamed GKN Hybrid Power. The plan is to use the flywheel technology to reduce fuel consumption of transport that is constantly stopping and starting – it’s currently being used on a bus operating in London – and  Williams expect it could cut fuel use by up to 30 per cent.

Jaguar XJ Review (2013 MY): 3.0 litre Diesel Portfolio

We’ve got the 2013 MY Jaguar XJ in Portfolio trim with the 3.0 litre diesel engine and the new eight-speed gearbox and stop-start in for review and road test. But even though it’s changed little in the three years since it debuted, the XJ has changed minds about what a big Jaguar saloon should be; no longer the staid old man’s carriage of choice with a pipe holder in the centre console, but instead a stand-out car in its sector with better dynamics than anything else. The looks have grown on a sceptical public too, and the XJ is now viewed as a real Jaguar; it doesn’t garner crowds as it did in the early days, but it’s still a car that passing strangers feel warrants comment, comments which have always been complimentary when the big Jag has been with us.