Volkswagen Beetle Speedometer (cluster), Mph, 2.0l, Mt 98 on 2040-parts.com

European car sales down 5.2%

EUROPEAN UNION car sales are still sagging despite the return of modest economic growth. For the first eight months of the year, passenger car sales were down 5.2% to 7.84 million compared with the same period last year, the European Auto Manufacturers' Association said - the lowest January-August figure since the group started keeping records in 1990. New car registrations in August fell five per cent from a year ago to 653,872.

Redesigned Mercedes E-class cabriolet spied in crimson

Our fascination with the future Mercedes-Benz E-class continues. Last week, we got a glimpse of the E-class coupe during testing, and now spy shooters have nabbed an even choicer game: the cabriolet. It's a double dip.

BMW X1 (2010) – official teaser images

BMW has released teaser images of the new BMW X1 compact SUV BMW’s offering in this department is the new BMW X1 which is, in many ways, a 1-Series on stilts, although it has components in common with both the 1-Series and the 3-Series. It will be available in both 2WD and 4WD with engines ranging from a 1.8 litre 4-pot petrol to a 3.0 litre turbo-diesel with a 6-sped manual ‘box or an auto option. These relatively undisguised photos from BMW are the first official shots that have no real subterfuge in them, and show the lines of the car pretty clearly.