Remy 12301 Alternator/generator-premium Reman Alternator on 2040-parts.com

New Vauxhall VXR8 GTS gets 576bhp & costs £54,999

The new Vauxhall VXR8 GTS gets 576bhp If you’re going to make your most potent saloon car more powerful, you could just tweak the engine management a bit to add a few more horses. But Vauxhall have gone a bit further with the latest VXR8 GTS – it gets a 6.2 litre V8 from the Camaro ZL1, a whole 150bhp and 140lb/ft of torque than the old VXR8. Vauxhall has based the GTS on Holden’s new GEN-F GTS – Australia’s maddest production Holden – and the increase in power comes courtesy of a supercharger, new exhaust system.

Volvo S60 DRIVe & V60 DRIVe launch

The Volvo V60 DRIVe This week we’re out playing with a Volvo DRIVe model, although our car is the S40 DRIVe. DRIVe models are Volvo’s push at all things green (or all things blue if you’re German) and take a regular Volvo and eco the bejesus out of it with stuff like stop-start, low rolling resistance tyres and the plethora of eco-toys car makers use to make the headline economy and emissions unbelievable. The result is a Volvo that drives pretty much the same as any Volvo but which can – as long as you play the eco-driving game – run almost on fresh air, and because cars like this are designed to hit emissions targets on official cycles, they’re also good on stuff like VED and BIK. And if the S40 DRIVe we’ve got this week is anything to go by, you can still drive with enthusiasm and enjoy it as long as you don’t mind the economy suffering.

Peugeot 308 (2014) first pictures of Peugeot's new Focus-fighter

This is Peugeot's all-new family hatchback: the 308. Yep, that's right: Peugeot isn't rolling over to the '309' moniker, but don't be fooled: the new 308's design looks worlds apart from the off-the-pace outgoing car. Sticking with the same model names for all future cars will simplify the range for consumers, reckons Peugeot: it's a demonstration of the fightback to rebuild the brand's image (think Ford ditching the 'Escort' badge and sticking with 'Focus' instead). The new 308 is 140kg lighter than before, more economical and gets a totally rethought cabin.