Volvo’s new VEA family of four-cylinder engines starts production

As a result, Volvo has been planning a new range of four-cylinder engines to power their range in the future – the new Volvo Engine Architecture (VEA) – and has spent the last couple of years readying their design – and their facility in Skövde – to start production. And now it’s underway. Together with Volvo’s Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) the new VEA engines will be a core part of every new Volvo before too long, and will replace the five and six cylinder engines Volvo currently uses and will provide more power than current six-cylinder engines with economy and emissions better than current four-cylinder engines.

Are GM planning to shut Vauxhall for good?

Could General Motors (GM) be planning to close Vauxhall down for good as they seek an answer to huge losses in Europe. General Motors has had its share of problems in the last few years, not least the bailout needed to save it from bankruptcy in the US. That US bailout has seen GM return to profit in the US, but GM Europe continues to be a big hole in its accounts as the European car market continues to struggle with over capacity and a lack of buyers for traditional mainstream cars.

Who's Where: Dimitri Vicedomini joins Brilliance Automotive as Design Director

Dimitri Vicedomini has joined Brilliance Automotive as its Design Director, following his previous position as Chief Designer at Pininfarina. Vicedomini, who has over 15 years of experience within the automotive design industry, has previously worked with Brilliance, leading the Pininfarina design team behind models including the Splendor and Splendor Wagon, the H530, and Brilliance's Zhonghua Concept. Within his long history at the renowned Italian design house he was involved in projects including the Ferrari FF, the Enzo and the new F12 Berlinetta as well as the Maserati Gran Turismo and other models.