Mopar Oem 4780806af Floor & Rails-rear-upper Cross Member on 2040-parts.com

Alfa Romeo goes rear-drive; eight new cars by 2018 including 4C Cloverleaf

By Damion Smy Motor Industry 06 May 2014 15:51 Alfa Romeo has confirmed the news first broken exclusively by CAR in July 2013: the Italian brand will make a dramatic shift from front-drive hatches like the Mito and Giulietta, and instead develop a new range of rear- and all-wheel sports saloons, SUVs and sports cars. Announced in Detroit at Fiat-Chrysler HQ, Alfa Romeo chief technology officer Harald Wester revealed the mantra for the brand includes pushing volumes up from 74,000 sales in 2013, to around 400,000 by 2018. Alfa Romeo is investing around €5bn in the project, the first fruits of which will be the new Giulia saloon, a 3-series rival that will go on sale in autumn 2015.Read our scoop of Alfa's strategy here That’s right.

BMW open up shop on eBay – BMW Direct

BMW - open for business on eBay Remarkably, BMW are the first car maker to open up shop on eBay in the UK – BMW Direct – and although such a move would have been frowned on just a few years ago it now makes huge sense. It’s clear that this is aimed at parts for older BMWs – where owners wouldn’t normally consider visiting a BMW dealer to grab parts to keep their pride and joy on the road – rather than aiming at the owner of a new M5 grabbing a set of pads to shove on over the weekend. But the biggest scope is for accessories - genuine BMW accessories being the key – with just a mouse-click away from a buy for everything from a new set of 19″  alloys at £3,300  to a BMW Windscreen?/Window/Glass Cleaner + Telescopic Handle at £5.95.

Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid unveiled

Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid Volkswagen has revealed the VW Jetta Hybrid at the Detroit Auto Show, with a 1.4 litre turbo and electric motor promising 54mpg  and 168bhp. VW has revealed the Jetta Hybrid at the Detroit Motor Show which will, if nothing else, show the Americans that a small capacity – in thyis case a 1.4 litre TSI engine – can offer not just decent economy but also some reasonable performance. With the aid of a 20kW electric motor the Jetta Hybrid can muster 168bhp and scoot ro 60mph in around 9 seconds, but still offer 54mpg.