Toyota Chaser 1995 Left Side Mirror Assembly [9213600] on 2040-parts.com

News watch March 2011: today's auto industry news

Welcome to CAR Magazine's news aggregator as we round up the daily stories in the auto industry. Top tip: news summaries are added from the top hour-by-hour Thursday 31 March 2011• US President Barack Obama has strated all US government cars and trucks purchased from 2015 must be alternative-fuel vehicles (Automotive News)• Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has denied a report in Japan's Nikkei newspaper that he is leaning towards a formal merger of Nissan and Renault (Reuters)• Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne says that Chrysler's share IPO may now take place in 2012, depending on financial progress this year (Bloomberg)Wednesday 30 March 2011• Tesla CEO Elon Musk has called a report that the EV carmaker is a takeover target 'bad analysis' and remains confident the firm will stay independent (Bloomberg)• The BBC denies that it rigged a December 2008 Top Gear TV test of the Tesla Roadster, in response to being sued by the EV carmaker (BBC News)• First Group, the UK's largest public transport operator, has announced a £160m investment in new buses, ordering 955 new buses from UK manufacturers Wrightbus and Dennis over the next two years (BBC News)• Japanese production woes look set to continue into April. Toyota expects the majority of Toyota and Lexus production on 14 April (Automotive News)• Saab production has re-started again, following a half yesterday afternoon.

McLaren 12C Spider gets topless, goes sideways

McLaren has released a glossy launch video to accompany the release of the new 12C Spider supercar. It looks as if the boys and girls from Woking are determined to destroy the reputation for anodyne, 'boring' supercars at McLaren, given that the 12C Spider spends most of its time going very sideways in this clip. Then again, given the 12C Spider's hardware, it's not hard to see why it's such a lairy beast when off the leash.

Renault looking to 'relaunch the 5 below Clio'

Spurred on by the success of BMW's Mini, Fiat's 500 and VW's Beetle, Renault is actively considering the relaunch of the 5 to slot below the Clio, CAR has learned. However, a new Renault 5 would not be a retro car, according to senior sources in Paris. 'We have no retro cars in our plan,' said our mole.