Mercruiser 1988 4.3l 175hp V6 Alpha 1 Flywheel 222-9518 (up6-1) on 2040-parts.com

UK new car registrations up again in July

New car registrations in the UK have risen for the fifth month running, with a total of 143,884 new cars registered in July 2012. The UK is continuing to buck the European trend with new car registrations up by 9.3 per cent in July (2102) to 143,884 according to new figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). That figure is the largest sales volume of 2012 and is the fifth month in a row that new car registrations have risen, despite economic woes and the Eurozone crisis, and brings registrations in 2012 to 1,201,564 so far, leading the SMMT to increase their prediction for 2012 sales upwards to 1.97 million.

MG Icon wins Best Concept: Beijing 2012

MG Icon at Beijing The MG Icon – an SUV/Crossover Concept – has won the ‘Best Concept’ Award at the Beijing Motor Show from Autoweek Magazine. Just before the Beijing Motor Show kicked off we got the first sketches of the MG Icon, a compact, funky SUV Crossover in the mould of the Nissan Juke with an MGB bonnet and grill. Sounds odd, but looked pretty good.

New baby Jaguar to be called XE

Jaguar has revealed its new small saloon rival to the BMW 3 Series will be called XE. The new Jaguar XE, which will be revealed this year before going on sale in 2015, will be the first all-aluminium car ever launched in the premium small saloon sector – and prices are expected to start from £30,000. Jaguar is promising a range of cars that stretch from a sub-100g/km model (something the BMW 3 Series doesn’t yet achieve) to one that can reach a top speed of 186mph (a speed that’s also faster than every 3 Series).