Spi Sports Parts Inc Starter Pawl Kit S-d 11-153-04 on 2040-parts.com

Fisker battles problems as the Karma finally lurches toward launch

All Henrik Fisker wants is to build his plug-in hybrid cars and deliver them to customers--some of whom have been waiting three years since plunking down $5,000 deposits. Instead, he has been fending off criticisms aimed at his green-car company as shipments of his $103,000 Karma plug-in hybrid sedan have been delayed by cash flow troubles, regulatory snarls and a recall. But when a startup such as Fisker Automotive accepts a Department of Energy loan in a down economy, having the company tossed around like a political football comes with the territory.

Magna gets Vauxhall and Opel

Canadian parts maker Magna takes control of Opel and Vauxhall The German Government is to supply funding of €1.5 billion to help the new Opel/Vauxhall operation to finance the transition. The news hasn’t come a moment too soon, as the US Government had given GM only until Monday to resolve the issue before the likely bankruptcy of GM. The Opel/Vauxhall operation will now be ring-fenced from the insolvency of its former parent in the US and will become ana entity in its own right.

Aston Martin reveals the 2012 V12 Vantage GT3 race car

Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 It’s been mooted for quite a while, but now it’s confirmed – AM are to replace the DBR9S race car with the Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3. Built on Aston Martin’s now rather ancient V/H architecture modular chassis, the Vantage GT3 also features Aston Martin’s one and only engine – the V12 originally built from a pair of Ford Mondeo engines – which in the GT3 version will produce something in the region of 600bhp and 516lb/ft of torque. What the GT3 also gets – as the photo above clearly demonstrates - are new aerodynamics, which makes the GT3 seem much more aggressive than the V12 Vantage on which it’s based.