Mercury/mariner Anondized Trim Tab Cm46399 on 2040-parts.com

Vauxhall Rake concept (2011) at Frankfurt motor show

Alongside the Astra GTC and Zafira Tourer, Vauxhall (and thus Opel) is unveiling something a little more ‘out there’ at the 2011 Frankfurt motor show. It’s this tiny city car, known by Vauxhall as RAK e, and which we’re going to call the Rake. The name is a modern take on the Rak 2, a rocket-powered Opel that hit 140mph in 1928.

Jag Land Rover factory closure ‘already decided'

Jaguar Land Rover management has already decided which UK factory to close – and the decision will be announced this autumn in 2010. The car making group, which manufactures around 250,000 cars a year, operates out of three UK sites: Castle Bromwich and Solihull near Birmingham, and Halewood near Liverpool. Those sorts of volumes are more normally associated with a single factory or, at a push, two.

JLR launches UK recruitment campaign

JAGUAR Land Rover has begun a campaign to recruit hundreds of new workers at its Engine Manufacturing Centre near Wolverhampton. Phase one of the overall plan will see 600 new employees join the company over the next four years, with the long-term aim being to recruit 1,400 extra staff members. The first 600 workers will be employed on the manufacturing line itself, producing parts for complex new engines destined to power cars like the Range Rover Evoque and the Jaguar F-Type.