97 Yamaha Venture Vt 500 Front Suspension Arm Ut6 on 2040-parts.com

Only the top is soft in new Audi A5/S5 cabriolet

Audi is bucking the trend among luxury automakers who are churning out hardtop convertibles, as the new A5/S5 cabriolets that will reach these shores in October will be the old-fashioned, soft-top design. While other manufacturers such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus and Volvo, among others, offer folding hard-tops, Audi says the compromise necessary to make room for the top and all its mechanical apparatus makes a soft-top the right choice for a small to mid-size convertible. The soft top is well insulated; even during a steady rain during our first drive of the car, the cabin was relatively quiet.

Pagani Zonda R at the Nurburgring: on video

The phrase 'broken record' at the Nurburgring has become ever so slightly over-used. Every other week, another manufacturer steps forward with claims of shaving time off the fabled record.  Pagani are guilty of this as much as the next supercar brand. Yet for some strange reason, you can almost forgive them when you watch the documentary video footage below of Horacio Pagani talking you through the record-breaking, £1.3m, track-special Zonda R.

Ebay-GM partnership generates interest but limited sales

General Motors Co.'s effort to sell new cars on eBay in California is generating interest but recording few sales on the Internet auction site. In the first nine days of the program, GM dealers listed 16,228 vehicles on eBay and completed 45 sales, according to data available on the Web site. But GM said the eBay exposure is prompting customers to visit dealerships to complete sales that aren't recorded on eBay.