Saab 9-5 Electronic Ignition Cassette (dic) on 2040-parts.com

E85 makes inroads on cost and availability

Three years ago, we embarked on a Midwest road trip in search of what was then the Holy Grail of fuel: E85. Our findings weren't too positive--there were far more E85-compatible vehicles on the road in 2006 (5 million) than there were E85 pumps to fuel them (about 700 out of some 200,000 fuel stations nationwide). In addition, those burning the mix of 15 percent gasoline and 85 percent ethanol were paying a pretty penny for their earth-friendly ways, losing about 15 percent in fuel economy while often paying the same price as regular unleaded.

Jaguar Land Rover create 700 more jobs at new engine plant

Jaguar Land Rover has announced that they are creating an additional 700 jobs – double the original – at their new engine plant in Wolverhampton. Back in 2011, we revealed that Jaguar Land Rover were planning a new facility on the i54 development in Wolverhampton to build engines for their cars, removing the reliance on Ford’s (excellent) engines in the process. That investment was to be £335 million with 700 new jobs created in Wolverhampton – and more than 2,000 in the supply chain – but it seems that’s not going to be enough with Jaguar Land Rover sales continuing to grow at a great rate of knots.

2014 Nissan Micra facelift revealed with March debut in Thailand

A facelift for the 2014 Nissan Micra has been revealed with the debut of the new Nissan March in Thailand. But that move to cut production costs took its toll on the Micra with sales in Europe dropping by almost 10 per cent as buyers moaned about the build quality of the new Micra and the lack of a diesel engine option. So now Nissan are giving the Micra a bit of a facelift for the 2014 model year to breathe some new life in to sales, with the new Micra debuting as the new Nissan March in Thailand last week.