Standard Motor Products V158 Pcv Valve on 2040-parts.com

Opel Ampera plug-in hybrid design sketches leak out

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 19 February 2009 09:28 These pictures allegedly reveal the production-spec Opel/Vauxhall Ampera a fortnight ahead of its Geneva show debut. A Spanish website claims to have stumbled across the technical design sketches at a European patent office and – if authentic – they spill the beans on the new plug-in hybrid electric concept car that’s bound for a showroom near you within two years. The Ampera is Opel/Vauxhall’s version of the Chevrolet Volt, the breakthrough car that could just save GM if it survives its current crisis.

Vauxhall Astra (2010) ecoFLEX arrives

Vauxhall has added the ecoFLEX to the Astra range There was a time – not so long ago – when car makers trumpeted the arrival of the range-topping, high-performance model of a new car shortly after the main range launched. But now the fanfares are reserved for the super-eco model. Such are the times in which we live.

Mercedes S63 gets new 5.5 litre V8

The Mercedes S63 AMG is the firts to get the new AMG 5.5 litre V8 Bi-Turbo Mercedes’ top end AMG engine has changed over the last few years. It’s gone from a 5.5 litre supercharged lump to the now ubiquitous 6.2 litre normally aspirated engine, which anomalously gets badged ’63′ throughout the cars that sit at the top of each of Mercedes big-engined ranges. But now we go back to the future with the return of a 5.5 litre V8 – admittedly a completely new engine (M571) – which this time round sports a pair of turbochargers and delivers 554 hp and 590lbs/ft of torque.