Peugeot 204 Pinion (4th Gear) & Peugeot 305 (3th Gear) on 2040-parts.com

Vauxhall & Opel – no plant closures before 2014

Will the new Mokka help GM in Europe Despite reports that GM Europe are planning closures at Vauxhall and Opel, GM boss says there will be no closures before 2014. GM in Europe are not having an easy time of things, with both Vauxhall and Opel struggling for sales as the car market in Europe polarises and the mainstream car makers struggle. GM have made some moves to consolidate their European operation with a co-operation agreement with Peugeot Citroen, but that deal has more of a sticking plaster feel to it than a real way to fix the issues of over-production in a difficult European market.

BMW set to debut diesel 7-series in the US

While Mercedes-Benz has let us Americans buy diesel versions of its flagship sedan from time to time, BMW has kept a number of versions of the 7-series from our shores, among which are 7-series sedans with diesel engines. Well, it looks like we'll finally be getting a diesel 7-series after all, with the arrival of the 740Ld later this spring. The 740Ld will be powered by a 3.0-liter inline-six diesel engine with a single turbocharger with variable vane turbine technology, making 255-hp and 413 lb-ft of torque, and will be coupled exclusively with BMW's xDrive all-wheel drive system.

Toyota FT-86 Open Concept (2013) drop-top GT86 revealed

Toyota will show a drop-top 'FT86 Open' concept at the 2013 Geneva motor show. It's supposedly a concept version created only to gauge customer reaction to a GT86 convertible, but with test mules already hard at work elsewhere, this is one concept car you can be sure will make it to showrooms almost unchanged. After all, that 'FT86' moniker stands for 'Future Toyota'...