Nissan Maxima 1999 V6 3000 24 Valve Motor on 2040-parts.com

Porsche Panamera upgrades (2010) first details

The 493bhp Porsche Panamera Turbo is about to get even more powerful: Porsche has released details of a new range of upgrades available on the Panamera, including a £14k Powerkit pack. The Powerkit – as its name suggests – delivers an increase in power (and torque) over the standard car, and is exclusively available on the Panamera Turbo. The Panamera Turbo left us a little underwhelmed when we put it through its paces a year ago, chief issues being the packaging, styling and ergonomics.

China to boost electric cars with 30% Government EV fleet

The BYD E6 EV (pictured) will benefit from China’s push on EVs The UK government has just announced its commitment to use electric cars for its own vehicles in an effort to boost the take-up of EVs, but China is going even further. China has ordered government officials to start buying electric cars (that means BEVs, plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell cars) in a big way, with instructions that 30 per cent of government cars must fall in to the ‘New Energy’ category by 2017, and an even higher percentage going forward. The aim is to cut pollution, and China expects to have 5 million New Energy cars on the road by 2020 and it is urging it government agencies and some city governments to start buying New Energy vehicles from Chinese makers like BYD and SDAIC, but also instructing them to build more charging stations and supporting infrastructure.

Record new car sales anticipated

RECORD new car sales are expected for 2013 after last month's figures showed another strong increase. A total of 157,314 new cars were registered in October - a 4% rise on October last year, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said. The October rise - the 20th successive monthly increase - took the year-so-far total to just over 1.95 million, a 10.2% rise on January-October last year.