Mercedes R129 Sl320 Sl500 Sl600 Right Seat Belt Trim on 2040-parts.com

Hyundai's record year – can it continue? (2013)

Hyundai’s metamorphosis is complete – it’s now one of the ten most popular car brands in the UK, and the first Korean manufacturer ever to crack into the Premier League of UK car buying habits. Sales in 2012 soared by 18.1% to 74,000 units, while its Kia sister brand scored 66,000 registrations last year, according to the new SMMT figures out this week. The Korean double-act isn’t just a thorn in the side of the established French mainstream brands: it’s killing them off completely.

New car sales in UK still growing – up 14.8% April 2013. Driven by PPI Claims?

It is quite hard to fathom just how UK new car sales (well, registrations) continue to rise inexorably against a backdrop of otherwise stagnant economic activity, but they do. April 2013 has seen a total of 163,357 new car registrations, up a huge 14.8 per cent on April 2012 and the best figure since 2008, and these sales figures are not being driven by fleet buyers but by private motorists – private sector registrations grew by 32.3 per cent in April and are up by 15.2 per cent year to date. Not surprisingly, it’s the Superminis that are performing strongly – although all sectors are showing a rise – and it’s the Ford Fiesta that continues to be the best seller in the UK with sales of over 8,000 in April and over 42,000 so far in 2013, and the rise of superminis has also seen an increase in sales of petrol-engined cars thanks to the wave of small capacity, frugal petrol options.

McLaren P1 tests in Arctic, MP4-12C at drag strip

McLaren has produced less than a handful of road cars in its 50-year existence, and they've all been hits. The company currently sells two cars for the street: the P1 and the MP4-12C, and they both require the “super” moniker. The McLaren P1 made its debut at the Paris motor show in September, and has been the subject of many analyses ever since.