Standard Motor Products S586 Backup Light Socket on 2040-parts.com

Seven reasons why GM wants to keep Opel

General Motors Co. is considering reversing course and hanging on to Opel, and it is easy to figure out why. Keeping a foothold in Europe is vital for GM, and the company may be able to afford it.

Toyota to close Australian design studio

Toyota designers at its Technical Center Asia Pacific Australia (TTCAP-AU) are to lose their jobs as part of Toyota's decision to scale back the facility's activities as well as halting all manufacturing within the country by 2017. The TTCAP-AU, which carries out all its Australian design and evaluation operations, employs 150 designers and modelers and it's possible that its activities with the Camry, Camry Hybrid and Aurion models could be scrapped, raising doubts over its future. Around 2,500 employees at Toyota's Altona manufacturing plant are expected to lose their jobs, although the effects are likely to be wider ranging.

Seat Alhambra (2010): Spain's new full size MPV

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 19 April 2010 18:04 Seat has whisked the covers off its rebodied VW Sharan: the new 2010-spec Seat Alhambra. Like its creaking predecessor, it's a seven-seater MPV based on Volkswagen group underpinnings and is bound for a life of family functionality and taxi airport runs. Sliding doors figure this time round to give the Sharan a dose of car park practicality.