Springfield Universal Trac-lock™ Slide on 2040-parts.com

Why we won't be running CDNLive coverage from the Beijing motor show

Over the last couple of years we've grown our CDNLive motor show coverage from the world's most important motor shows, in an effort to bring you closer to all the new cars and news as well as highlighting some of the things you might miss. It's one of our the key content streams that we feel sets us apart from the deluge of auto show coverage. However as you can imagine it also takes a huge amount of time and effort, not to mention a good internet connection.

MINI One Convertible launched plus MINI range revisions

MINI has launched the MINI One Convertible It’s at least five minutes since MINI hurled yet another model at us, so with a New Year upon us they’ve obviously decided to see if they can outdo the new model every month they announced in 2009 with the launch of the MINI One Convertible and a bunch of changes across the range to kick off 2010. The MINI One Convertible is the new starting point for a soft-top MINI and gets the same oily bits as the MINI One – a 97bhp 1.6 litre with a top speed of 114mph and a 0-60mph of a leisurely 11.3 seconds. You can also opt for the new ‘Minimalism’ trim level – only available on the MINI One – in either 75bhp or 97bhp forms.

Concept Car of the Week: DeTomaso Zonda (1971)

Not satisfied in producing one of the most astonishing sports cars of the ‘60s with the Mangusta, Italian carmaker DeTomaso asserted its ambitions in 1970 by presenting an even more striking sports car, the Pantera, alongside the luxurious Deauville four-door sedan, both powered by the same Ford V8 engine. Those new gorgeous models were the work of Dutch-born Tom Tjaarda, then head of design at Ghia. Despite those amazing cars, the styling house was struggling to make a profit and that same year, Alejandro DeTomaso sold Ghia along with a large chunk of his company to Ford, which was looking for that exotic Italian touch.