1973 Pontiac Catalina Bonneville Grand Ville Consumer Information Brochure 73 on 2040-parts.com

Building a business around Alfa lust

In a low-key industrial complex just north of Detroit sits a trove of 1960s and '70s Alfa Romeos. To describe it as a “treasure” trove doesn't quiet fit, because in the words of owner Richard Davisson, the Italian icons are “everything from pathetic to just about done.” Several of the dozen or so cars are gorgeous. Most are interesting.

MINI Countryman to be built in India

MINI sells worldwide – even in the US – and, despite claims it was a step too far for the brand, the MINI Countryman has been a big hit for MINI, offering as it does most of MINI’s charm but in a bigger, more family friendly package and with the option of All4 4WD for a degree of off-road ability (well, certainly the ability to treat boot sale car parks with disdain). Now, for the first time, BMW is to build the MINI outside Europe with a new MINi assembly facility coming on stream in Chennai, India, where BMW already makes 3 and 5 Series models as well as the X1 and X3. The plan is part of BMW’s plan of ‘Production follows the market’ where BMW aim to make their cars where they’re sold, so with the MINI brand showing strong growth in India since its launch it makes sense to build them there.

One In Five Behind The Wheel Is Over 65

WE’RE constantly being told that more mature citizens are making up an increasing proportion of the population, and nowhere is this more obvious than on our roads. According to road safety charity the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), there are now more than seven million drivers over the age of 65 in the UK. The figures come from driving licence data published by the DVLA in December 2013, and show that the number of drivers over 65 reached 7,191,192 in November 2013.