Motorcraft Dy-649 Oxygen Sensor on 2040-parts.com

Bungling thief caught after stealing hire car's steering wheel

A DIM-WITTED criminal has been convicted of theft after stealing parts of a brand new Audi A3 hire car and replacing them with old bits taken from his much older Audi S3. Alexander Keating, a 23-year-old former bodyshop technician who lost his job following the conviction, stole parts as obvious as the steering wheel and gear knob from the A3 that his mum had hired after damaging her car in an accident. Keating foolishly believed no one would notice the battered old steering wheel on the otherwise shiny, new car, but sure enough the mismatched parts were spotted and the hapless bungler was caught by the car hire firm’s bespoke anti-fraud team Asset Protection Unit (APU).

Aston Martin V8 Vantage (2012) the Vantage S-inspired upgrade

This is Aston Martin’s new V8 Vantage, with a new gearbox, styling tweaks and chassis upgrades. You might think it looks little different than before – and that’s no bad thing – but Aston Martin claims the updates amount to ‘most comprehensive programme of enhancements’ since the 4.7-litre version of the V8 Vantage was launched in 2008. The new Aston Martin V8 Vantage will be unveiled at the Geneva motor show in March 2012, just in time to distract potential customers away from the new Porsche 911.  So what’s new about the new Aston Martin V8 Vantage?

BMW 3 Series Coupe & Convertible 2010 Facelift

BMW has revised the 3 Series Convertible and Coupe for 2010. It’s not actually that long until we’re due a new 3 Series from BMW (2011) but that doesn’t mean BMW are sitting on the current BMW 3 Series waiting for it to turn up its toes next year. They’re still tweaking and titivating and have revealed a round of changes for the 2010 Coupe and Convertible (which will be the 2011 MY in the US) – a facelift before the end is probably the best way to look at it.