Mercruiser 454 Aluminum Oil Pan on 2040-parts.com

Kia Cross GT SUV Concept teased ahead of Chicago debut

A new Kia Concept for a larger CUV/SUV – the Kia Cross GT – is being teased ahead of a reveal at the Chicago Auto Show. Kia may have made big strides in the last few years – along with sister company, Hyundai – but there’s no sense they’re resting on their laurels despite declaring 2013 the year when brand perception is key rather than huge sales growth. We already know that the Kia pro_cee’d GT and the five-door Cee’d GT, both the with a 200bhp petrol turbo – are heading for the Geneva Motor Show in March and will sit alongside the the Kia Urban Concept, which appears to be Kia’s take on the Nissan Juke.

Daimler-Renault alliance to delay new Smart and Twingo models, report says

Renault SA and Daimler AG, who are sharing technology to build the new Smart ForTwo and Renault Twingo cars, will delay the introduction of the models by a year, according to a French newspaper. The cars will now come to market in 2014 instead of 2013, La Tribune said, citing industry sources. The next ForTwo and the third-generation Twingo will be built on Renault's A platform, with ForTwo production continuing at Smart's plant in Hambach, France, and Twingo output at Renault's Novo Mesto factory in Slovenia.

2013 Astra Cabrio caught on video

We have video of the 2013 Opel / Vauxhall Astra Cabriolet on video ahead of its debut at the Paris Motor Show. We’re guessing that even though the 2013 Astra Cabriolet (which will arrive as both the Vauxhall and Opel Cabrio) is due to debut at the Paris Motor Show next month, it won’t be in showrooms until the spring – just in time for another miserable summer. Ahead of that debut, GM Europe are out at the Nurburgring making sure their new soft-top doesn’t wibble wobble too much, resulting in the spy video below.