Universal Power Door Lock Conversion Set on 2040-parts.com

Tesla pays off its government loans

Tesla paid off the last of its $465 million government loans May 22, nine years ahead of schedule, thus outperforming most U.S. college graduates and the vast majority of American homeowners. Tesla used funds from a stock offering to finish the loan with a whopping bank transfer of $451.8 million Wednesday, pointing out that it was “…the only American car company to have fully repaid the government.” Apparently no one at Tesla was even born when Lee Iacocca paid off Chrysler's $1.2-billion government bailout ahead of schedule back in 1983.

Volkswagen XL1

This, remarkably, is the production version of the Volkswagen XL1, the most fuel-efficient production car in the world, a car we'll see in Geneva in a little over a week. Barely changed from the concept version shown at the Qatar motor show two years ago, the production XL1 is the first production result of VW's 1-liter project – to design a car that uses less than 1l/100km (282.5mpg imperial) – that started with the lozenge-shaped, tandem-seat 2003 1L and the later L1 of 2009. The XL1 actually beats that by sipping just 0.9 liters with CO2 emissions of 21g/km.

New Nissan Qashqai: Price from £17,595 to £27,845

The new Nissan Qashqai (pictured) costs from £17,595 The new Nissan Qashqai is a big deal for Nissan as the old Qashqai managed to create a shift from hatchbacks to crossovers almost single handed. But the new Qashqai does look pretty convincing. Revealed last week, the new Qashqai is better looking and better equipped than the old model and, even though prices have nudged upwards, it seems to offer a more convincing package for family transport than before.