Matco 1 1/4 Inch Wrench on 2040-parts.com

New car sales see record growth period

ANOTHER rise last month has taken UK car sales to their longest-ever period of growth. A total of 194,032 new cars were registered in May – a 7.7% rise on the May 2013 figure, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said. The increase last month was the 27th consecutive monthly rise – beating the previous record of 26 months of growth between May 1987 and June 1989.

Volvo V40 Cross Country arrives

Volvo has revealed the 2013 V40 Cross Country, a new variant on the new V40, offering a more rugged option for the V40 range. We thought it was going to be the Volvo XC40 – denoting an SUV come crossover version of the new V40 – but Volvo has decided that their more rugged version of the V40 will take the Cross Country name - first used on the V70 in 1997 – and so we get the new Volvo V40 Cross Country. Following on from the new V40 R-Design, revealed last week, Volvo now offers a V40 they say is for ‘those who want a sense of adventure in their everyday life‘ – in other words, this is a slightly more rufty-tufty V40.

Citroën to unveil flagship model in Beijing

Citroën has released two teaser images for a new luxury flagship model to be unveiled at the Beijing motor show next month, as part of its efforts to reposition the brand further upmarket with its DS model range. The car, which is to be the automaker's fourth and largest model in its DS range, appears to be a direct descendent of the Citroën Metropolis Concept, first seen at the Shanghai World Fair in 2010. Although it is unclear whether or not the model seen in the pictures will be the production version of the Metropolis, the two clearly share many design features.