Kelly Springfield Belt 372k4 on 2040-parts.com

Lexus, Subaru, Mazda score highest Consumer Reports' rankings

Japanese brands, led by Lexus, Subaru and Mazda, continue to dominate Consumer Reports' rankings of the best light vehicles on the market, claiming "top pick" honors in seven out of 10 product segments and capturing the top seven spots for overall brand reliability and performance. The brands that scored best on the magazine's report cards for 2013 were Lexus, with a score of 79 out of 100, followed by Subaru and Mazda, which both scored a 76. Toyota, Acura, Honda and Scion rounded out the top seven.

Porsche Macan to debut at Los Angeles – gets V6 turbo petrol

The dealer presentation for the new Porsche Macan The Porsche Macan – Porsche’s take on a smaller version of the Cayenne to tap in to the more compact SUV market – will arrive at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November and get V6 turbo power. Jalopnik has managed to get photos of a dealer presentation of the Porsche Macan which confirms its arrival at Los Angeles and also gives us some detail of what will power the new smaller Porsche SUV. We’re not entirley sure the photo Porsche used in the presentation is the actual Macan (Jalopnik think Porsche has used a render by Auti Bild to muddy the waters for their dealers – just in case the presentation leaks) but it does seem clear that Porsche, at l;east initially, aims to provide the Macan with decent levels of Porsche power.

2015 BMW 2 Series Convertible Price & Specs – costs from £29,180

The new BMW 2 Series Convertible arrives – and there’s an M235i version too As BMW changes its nomenclature, the BMW 2 Series Convertible arrives as a replacement for the old 1-Series Convertible and becomes the third BMW in the 2-Series range, joining the 2 Series Coupe and the FWD 2-Series Active Tourer. Due to go on sale in February 2015, the new 2-Series Convertible is looking to build on the success of the old 1-Series Convertible with a wide range of specs and powerplants – from the 220i and 220d to the range-topping M235i – and prices starting from £29,180 for the 220i Convertible rising to £37,710 for the M235i Convertible. Four power plants will be available in the 2-Series Convertible, with the 220i getting 184bhp, 228i with 245bhp, 220d with 190bhp and the range-topping M235i Convertible gets 326bhp.