Nissan Cima 2002 Oil Cooler [3420700] on 2040-parts.com

Are new car sales figures a fantasy?

A recent report from Germany claimed up to 30 per cent of new car sales were a fiction. Could the same be true in the UK? Despite the recession – and the lack of finance deals for a huge number of potential customers – new car sales in the UK seem to be rising inexorably.

F1 drivers supporting Schumacher

F1 DRIVERS from around the world have wished Michael Schumacher a full recovery as he lies in a coma after a skiing accident in France. Martin Brundle, who was Schumacher's team-mate at Benetton in 1992 and 1993, tweeted: "Let's hope Michael Schumacher's ski shunt is not too bad and that he's totally fixable. He's a crazy brave skydiving/bike racing daredevil." Hours later, when the full extent of Schumacher's injuries had become clear, he urged: "Come on Michael, give us one of those race stints at pure qualifying pace to win through, like you used to.

Fiat 500 gets Stop-Start

Flavour of the month, stop-start, and here’s another to add to the list. The Fiat 500 gets Start&Stop (I’ve lost count of the different monikers) as an option on the 1.2 Lounge, using Bosch technology to beef up the system to make it reliable. The Stop/Start also gets another Fiat moniker – Blue&Me – which gives the driver EcoDrive to aid emissions and adds hands-free phone and an entertainment system.