Kyb 341151 - Rear Shock Absorber - Strut Assembly - Nissan 300zx 90-96 on 2040-parts.com

Kia Rio (2011): first sketches of new supermini

It never rains, it pours in Kiaworld, it seems. Not long after showing us the new Kia Picanto city car last week and the KV7 concept car at this week's 2011 Detroit auto show, today Kia publishes these first design sketches of the new Rio. It's Kia's supermini to compete with the likes of the Ford Fiesta, Vauxhall Corsa and VW Polo.

New Porsche Panamera GTS takes to the track (video)

New Porsche Panamera GTS takes to the track The new Porsche Panamera GTS is the latest Panamera variant to arrive – the ninth Panamera, no less – and is, as all Porsche GTS models are, a harder-edged take on the more mainstream variants. With its naturally aspirated 4.8 litre V8 producing 425bhp, and pushing those horses through a PDK ‘box to all four wheels, the Panamera can scoot to 62mph in a very respectable 4.5 seconds on its way to a top speed of 179mph. Not bad for a big saloon car that eschews forced induction and can carry proper-sized passengers in comfort.

Grab a ‘VAT Free’ Skoda Octavia

In yet another ‘Sign of the times’ Skoda has announced that they are now offering ‘VAT Free Octavias’ until the end of the year. No, this is not a tie-up between Alistair Darling and VW, it’s just Skoda’s way of offering a headline price decrease of a bit over 13% (less expensive to Skoda than last week for the same headline, to be fair, and there is a new model due in January!). Grab a VAT free Skoda Octavia I’m pretty sure that there will be a raft of these ‘VAT Free’ offers floating around on everything from cars to washing machines, capitalising on the fact the VAT is in the headlines.