Vintage Auto Heater Motors Scta Rat Rod #1 on 2040-parts.com

17,000 solar panels to power Toyota’s Derbyshire plant

Toyota’s manufacturing plant at Burnaston in Derbyshire, where the Auris and Avensis are built, will install the biggest solar panel system yet seen in a UK car plant.  British Gas, which will stump up the £10 million cost of installing the solar panels, and Toyota are working together to save 2000 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year. Once the solar panels are installed, they claim it will save enough energy to build approximately 7000 cars a year.

Renault Megane CC (2010): first teaser photo

Renault today issued the first teaser photograph of the new 2010 Megane Coupe-Cabriolet. It’ll be shown on 2 March 2010 at the Geneva motor show in Switzerland, but we’ll have to wait until then to learn anything of substance about the new Megane convertible. It’ll stick with a folding hard top, but this shadowy teaser shot annoys as much as any restricted pre-publicity hype-up: we can’t really see much at all.

Peel P50 and Trident back in production – the world’s smallest car

Peel P50 and Peel Trident - backed by James Caan The Peel P50 and Trident – the Isle of Man’s contribution to the car world – are now back in production with an electric motor. Top Gear fans will probably remember Jeremy Clarkson taking the Peel P50 – billed as the world’s smallest car ever – for a trolley round London and the BBC (we’ve published the video below to remind you). Now, with the world obsessed with small cars, a bunch of businessmen – backed by former Dragons’ Den Dragon James Caan – are putting the Peel P50 and Trident back in to production.