Ram Mount Magnifier Big Screen 2 Inch X 4 Inch 2x Magnifier Black Universal on 2040-parts.com

Ken Block signs for Ford and the WRC

Ken Block – who became a YouTube sensation with his gymkhana stunt series ¬– has ended months of speculation by confirming he’ll compete in the 2010 World Rally Championship – switching his Subaru Impreza for a Ford Focus, while he'll also rally a Fiesta in the US. The Monster energy drink-backed deal will form a key part of Ford’s plan to market its hatches in America, and follows last year’s Pikes Peak Fiesta. It’s a tentative start for Block, who’ll be competing in select rounds of the WRC championship – Mexico is believed to be the first – to hone his skills.

Volkswagen XL1 ‘Super’ Hybrid heading for the UK – costs £98,515

The Volkswagen XL1 ‘Super’ Hybrid (pictured) costs £98,515 in the UK VW announced a while back that their ‘super’ hybrid XL1 was going in to limited production, although they didn’t confirm a price for being super green. But now the first XL1 has already been delivered in Germany, Volkswagen has confirmed a chunk of the 200 run – thought to be between 20 and 30 cars – will be making their way to the UK and will cost £98,515. For almost £100k, there are plenty of options bordering on supercar, but the XL1 is ‘super’ in a different way, and if extreme economy and a design that looks like something imagined as a car of the future in Hollywood Sci-Fi films of the 1930s floats your boat, the XL1 could be the car you’re looking for.

First Sight: Skoda Octavia

The new Skoda Octavia was unveiled earlier this week in the Czech brand's museum at its home in Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic. Car Design News was in attendance to check out the third generation of what the company calls ‘the heart of Skoda'. The new Octavia is the fourth model in the Volkswagen Group to be built on the new MQB (Modularer Querbaukasten) platform.