Nissan March 2008 Condenser [0360600] on 2040-parts.com

U.S. auto sales climb 14 percent in January

UPDATED: U.S. auto sales, led Toyota Motor Corp. and the Detroit 3, rose 14 percent in January, giving the industry a bigger lift to begin 2013 than analysts expected.

Bentley collaborates with Estede for solid gold sunglasses

Bentley and Estede have reported that sales of the first collection of limited edition solid gold sunglasses are through the roof. Celebrating the one-year anniversary of working together, the stylish and somewhat decadent sunglasses line is designed with Bentley's dedication of luxury in mind. The modern sunglasses, created in the style of the popular aviator eyewear, are available in either 18-carat solid gold, silver palladium or platinum with the Bentley ‘B' logo embedded in the hand-polished coating, with engraved surfaces reflecting the quilted leather interior favored in Bentley cars.

Mercedes launch new 9G-Tronic gearbox on E350 BlueTec

New Mercedes E350 BlueTec (pictured) gets 9-speed 9G-TRONIC auto It’s not exactly a million years ago that automatic gearboxes offered poorer performance and economy than manual gearboxes, and came as standard with just three gears. But now, automatic gearboxes are so good they can  change quicker than any driver and, with the proliferation of eight-speed auto ‘boxes, offer improved economy and performance too. The next logical step is even more ratios in an auto ‘box, and Land Rover has already revealed they’ll be fitting the Evoque with a 9-speed ZF ‘box from 2014, and the new Jeep Grand Cherokee gets a nine-speed auto ‘box too.