Toyota Venza Spare Tire Donut on 2040-parts.com

Porsche sees double with new Turbo Cabriolet models

THE NEW Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet has been revealed ahead of its launch at the Los Angeles Motor Show. The model takes a largely familiar format to modals that have gone before it, but this time the German firm is releasing two Turbo models at the same time. The 513bhp Turbo Cabriolet will be the entry point to the forced-induction 911 duo, starting at £126,766 before options.

Mechanics qualifications gained using Haynes manuals

MOST MEN enjoy a good Haynes car manual, whether they really understand it or not, but a group of youngsters has used the workshop guides to achieve their first qualifications in car mechanics. The first wave of the Haynes Mechanix scheme has seen a mixed gender youth club group, aged 15-25 and from Islington in London, use Haynes manuals along with guidance from experienced mentors to fix real problems on a real car. The donor Volkswagen, known as Percy the Polo, was a theoretical MOT fail and needed replacement spark plugs, a brake fluid replacement and much more, to give the aspiring tinkerers a broad spectrum of challenges.

Toyota & Lexus news at 2009 Tokyo motor show

The vibe on the Toyota stand is subdued, yet upbeat at the same time. They're chuffed to bits with their new products on show, but we can't help remembering Japan's – and the world's – premier car maker's $4.9 billion loss last year. And it's forecast to lose a similar amount in 2009.