Standard Motor Products Us385 Ignition Switch on 2040-parts.com

Skoda GreenLine – Now even more economical

The Skoda Fabia GreenLine Skoda has announced that they’re sticking a new generation of GreenLine engines in across their range and adding GreenLine versions of the Yeti and Superb Estate, so you can be frugal whatever Skoda model you opt for. Every single GreenLine model gets a tweak to squeeze more from every gallon. The newly ‘greened’ Yeti gets the all new 103bhp 1.6 litre diesel with stop/start and brake energy recuperation, as does the Octavia GreenLine and the Superb GreenLine.

Mercedes launch new 9G-Tronic gearbox on E350 BlueTec

New Mercedes E350 BlueTec (pictured) gets 9-speed 9G-TRONIC auto It’s not exactly a million years ago that automatic gearboxes offered poorer performance and economy than manual gearboxes, and came as standard with just three gears. But now, automatic gearboxes are so good they can  change quicker than any driver and, with the proliferation of eight-speed auto ‘boxes, offer improved economy and performance too. The next logical step is even more ratios in an auto ‘box, and Land Rover has already revealed they’ll be fitting the Evoque with a 9-speed ZF ‘box from 2014, and the new Jeep Grand Cherokee gets a nine-speed auto ‘box too.

Geely at Shanghai 2011: Geely MINI Cooper & Geely London Taxi

Geely's take on the London Cab & MINI Cooper Regular readers – in fact anyone who takes notice of car news – will probably recognise Geely as being the Chinese car maker who bought Volvo in 2010. Proper car anoraks may also remember the ‘Chinese Rolls Royce‘, a Phantom ‘Homage’ from Geely that came equipped with a ‘Throne’ in the back to transport a lone plutocrat. It looked a lot like a Russian cold war ZIL meets cartoon Phantom and there was no mistaking it was a Chinese car for a Chinese market.