Kyb Fork Service Kit 119993600101 on 2040-parts.com

VW Taigun Compact SUV heading for production

It was a good-looking and appealing effort from VW to tap in to the very compact SUV market, with a real family look (a Tiguan on a boil wash), peppy little 3-cylinder 1.0 litre engine delivering 108bhp and a 0-62mph of 9.2 seconds (with 60mpg economy) and enough room to carry stuff and people thanks to an extra 50mm in the wheelbase compared to the Up! Now it looks like the Taigun is heading for production after VW’s Chief designer, Klaus Bishoff, told Autoexpress that he deeply believed the Taigun would be heading for VW showrooms very soon, and could be sold in the UK and Europe as well as in emerging markets. So you can add the Taigun to the list of VW’s SUV offerings, and with new versions of the Tiguan and Touareg (perhaps based on the CrossBlue Concept) and a Polo based SUV on the way too, it looks like VW are covering all the bases.

BMW goes front-wheel drive for the 2-series Active Tourer

BMW's long-held reputation for producing only rear- and four-wheel drive vehicles comes to an end with the the new 2-series Active Tourer, its first-ever front-wheel-drive production model. The cornerstone of BMW's Geneva show stand next month, the 2-series Active Tourer marks a significant turning point for the German automaker, adopting a transverse-mounted engine and standard FWD. It arrives here in early 2015.

Where did the word 'automobile' come from?

On Jan. 3, 1899, the New York Times printed the word "automobile" upon its austere pages. It wasn't the first publication to do so; Scientific American used the phrase "automobile carriage" in a May 14, 1898, review of the Winton Motor Carriage, but the Grey Lady -- a more influential publication -- was the first to debate the term.