Bd Diesel 1030227 Performance Converter on 2040-parts.com

End of the road for 'Queen's favourite' car

ONE OF the most-loved and long-lived road vehicles, and a favourite with the Queen, is to cease production. The last Land Rover Defender will be produced by Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) at Solihull in the West Midlands in December 2015. Featuring in the Angelina Jolie film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and in the latest James Bond movie, Skyfall, the Defender name can be traced back to the early 1990s.

Aston Martin Vantage gets V12, but we won't get the car

The Aston Martin V12 Vantage, the hottest version of the two-seat coupe, is the latest step in the automaker's new-model offensive for 2009. Revealed just days after the Rapide four-door, the V12 Vantage is the second of four major reveals from Aston this year. Also coming is the DBS convertible, which will share stand space at Geneva with the V12 Vantage and a concept for a new Lagonda, the dormant brand that Aston plans to bring back to life as a super-luxury Rolls-Royce/Maybach challenger.

Redesigned Ford Escape SUV is recalled for carpet issue

Ford is recalling about 8,200 copies of the redesigned 2013 Ford Escape SUV to fix a carpeting flaw that could affect the driver's ability to use the brakes. Ford says the affected vehicles were built between March 8 and June 7, 2012. According to Ford, an improperly installed piece of carpet padding on the center-console trim panel could cause a driver's foot to hit the side of the side of the brake pedal when moving from the accelerator pedal.