Mitsubishi Pajero Mini 1999 Power Window Switch [8961900] on 2040-parts.com

Toyota & Lexus: Hybrid sales in Europe hit 20%

The ‘Green’ evangelists want to get us all driving electric cars to save the planet, but in the real world car drivers want a car that offers them all the practicality of a normal ICE car, but without the penalties of the poor range, high cost and inconvenience of an EV. So, with ever-rising fuel costs, it’s no wonder car buyers are willing to pay a little more for a car that offers better economy at the pumps – which plays straight in to the hands of Hybrid pioneers Toyota. The result is that Toyota and Lexus now see a full 20 per cent of their sale in Europe being hybrid cars in the first quarter of 2013, with sales of hybrid cars up a massive 82 per cent year-on-year.

Ford Fusion

NAIAS saw the unveiling of Ford's new Fusion sedan. By adopting the global 'One Ford' design language, Ford is hoping the midsized sedan will build on its D-segment sales with just one product, with this car also replacing the European-market Mondeo. The Fusion is the first production car to adopt the Kinetic 2.0 design language debuted by the EVOS concept at Frankfurt in 2011.

Novitec ups the ante on the Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale

The Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale might be leading in the vowels-per-word category, but on power it's slightly down--especially when you put it next to its Italian brethren. German tuner Novitec has a 646-hp solution for that. The Novitec Tridente, built off the MC Stradale platform, gets a belt-driven supercharger, a bigger intake manifold, larger injectors and new engine-software mapping.