Vivaro Starter Motor 233009590r Vauxhall '19 on 2040-parts.com

General Motors and Ford load up on small cars for bigger profits

Ford has no qualms about charging nearly $23,000 for a fully loaded 2011 Fiesta, which is smaller than the Focus. The Fiesta sedan, which goes on sale this summer, starts at $13,995, including shipping. The Fiesta, with a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine and a six-speed transmission, gets 40 mpg on the highway.

Infiniti means . . . what?

Ever since Infiniti was launched with mystifying advertising images of rocks and trees 21 years ago, Nissan Motor Co.'s luxury brand has been hard to pin down. Vehicles such as its G37, the 2011 M sedan and the QX56 SUV turn heads and win praise in buff books. But while luxury competitors such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Lexus have soared in consumer popularity over the past decade, Infiniti has struggled to keep up.

Jaguar readying SUV for Frankfurt motor show

While the next new Jaguar model slated for dealerships is a BMW 3-series fighter rumored to be called the XS, Autoweek sources have confirmed the company will also be showing an SUV at the Frankfurt motor show in September. Likely to be named XQ or Q-type, the Jaguar SUV is expected to ride on a version of the XS platform (itself a variation on the aluminum XJ architecture) rather than share a platform with a Land Rover product. Slated for 2016 production, the new Jaguar XQ SUV will share some powertrain technology with Land Rover, specifically the Ford I-4 engines from the Evoque.