Kawasaki Ex250 Ninja Rear Axle 2009 on 2040-parts.com

New car sales in UK still growing – up 14.8% April 2013. Driven by PPI Claims?

It is quite hard to fathom just how UK new car sales (well, registrations) continue to rise inexorably against a backdrop of otherwise stagnant economic activity, but they do. April 2013 has seen a total of 163,357 new car registrations, up a huge 14.8 per cent on April 2012 and the best figure since 2008, and these sales figures are not being driven by fleet buyers but by private motorists – private sector registrations grew by 32.3 per cent in April and are up by 15.2 per cent year to date. Not surprisingly, it’s the Superminis that are performing strongly – although all sectors are showing a rise – and it’s the Ford Fiesta that continues to be the best seller in the UK with sales of over 8,000 in April and over 42,000 so far in 2013, and the rise of superminis has also seen an increase in sales of petrol-engined cars thanks to the wave of small capacity, frugal petrol options.

Even better value for business from Lexus with new GS 300h

PREMIUM luxury manufacturer Lexus is adding to its GS range of mid-sized saloons by introducing the GS 300h to the range. Joining the established GS 450h in the range early next year, the GS 300h promises highly impressive CO2 emissions of 109g/km from its 2.5-litre full hybrid powertrain. That could deliver significant savings compared to its key premium market diesel and hybrid competitors, the GS 300h SE could represent an annual saving of up to £2,000 per year.

Hyundai wins Red Dot design award for New Genesis & New i10

The Hyundai Genesis (left) and Hyundai i10 have won the Red Dot design Award Oh, how things change. It’s not long since Hyundai’s USP was the cheapness of its cars, but those days are now gone; Hyundai now competes head to head with mainstream makers as the strength of its products improves with every new model and its designs make Hyundai appealing without resorting to bargain basement headline prices. That has been perfectly illustrated with the Red Dot Design awards for both the new Genesis and the new Generation i10, both of which have received the Red Dot Design award – a first for Hyundai.