Kia Picanto 2008 Rear Trunk Tailgate Logo Badge on 2040-parts.com

The Viper Lives!

The Dodge Viper has been saved by Fiat and will continue in production. The real problems for GM and Chrysler were their appalling high-volume cars, stuck at least a decade behind Europe in both styling and efficiency, they were an accident waiting to happen. And the meltdown in car sales worldwide, coupled with the jump in gas prices in the US (which has now gone), signalled the end of the old ways.

Volkswagen & Suzuki – it’s handbags at dawn

Volkswagen Suzuki Partnership - things aren't exactly rosy Back in 2009 Volkswagen invested a rather large chunk of change (around €2 billion) in Suzuki in exchange for a 20% stake in the Japanese car maker, and there were big hopes for advantages for both parties. Volkswagen were looking for a quick-fix route to the burgeoning car market in India, where Suzuki were doing very well, with sales in India last year of 1.13 million cars – almost half its production – in comparison to VW’s paltry sales of just 53,000. In return, Suzuki were expecting to get a quick route to cutting-edge hybrid and electric tech for their range, and access to VW’s engines.

Bentley Continental GTC (2011) first official pictures

Bentley has shown the convertible sister to the new Continental GT coupe: it's the new Conti GTC, due to be unveiled at the 2011 Frankfurt motor show. The Continental GTC Mk2 is entirely in line with the latest coupe - a sophisticated, subtle update to the 2005 original. There's the same smoother front end styling, the more squinty headlamps and a more exaggerated 'power line' with incredibly sharp creases.