1971 -1974 B Body Dodge Plymouth Auto Console Woodgrain Face Plate on 2040-parts.com

Range Rover long-wheelbase (2013) first official pictures

By Ollie Kew First Official Pictures 28 October 2013 00:01 A limousine off-roader that’s not a tarted-up stretch Hummer? Meet the new Range Rover long-wheelbase, which Land Rover is aiming squarely at the elongated versions of its luxury saloon rivals, like the Mercedes S-class, Audi A8, and Jaguar XJ. On sale in the UK in March 2014, the Range Rover long-wheelbase is expected to cost around £140,000 – twice the price of an entry-level Rangie, and £40k more than its short wheelbase specification equivalent, the top-spec Autobiography.

UK car sales up 11% in May (2013)

The Ford Fiesta (pictured) was again the best selling car in the UK The rise and rise of new car registrations in the UK continues to defy the rest of the economy, with figures up in May 2013 by 11 per cent year on year, and private sales up a massive 20.9 per cent to levels last seen in 2007. It’s the fifteenth month in succession new car registration have risen in the UK, with sales for May at 180,111 and total sales to date in 2013 hitting almost 1 million units, at 948,666. The SMMT think the big jump in private registrations is down to a number of factors, including cars bought under the scrappage scheme now being traded in for a new car, strong incentives from car makers and the promise of new cars offering lower running costs, and they’re probably right, although there are other factors in play too.

London Taxi maker Manganese Bronze bought by China’s Geely

China automotive giant Geely has bought Manganese Bronze – makers of the iconic London Black Cab – in an £11.04 million deal. The iconic London Black Cab has been an accident waiting to happen for years, as under investment in making the Black Cab fit for the 21st century saw competition – like the Mercedes Vito Taxi and the Nissan NV200 Cab – start to offer serious competition to the taxi that identifies London. Despite an investment by China’s Geely – when Geely bought 20 per cent of Manganese Bronze, makers of the Black Cab – and the bulk of the Black Cab being produced in China and bolted together in the Midlands, the final nail in the coffin for Manganese Bronze was the recall of 400 TX4 cabs over a steering fault.