Bulldog Winch 20010 Mounting Plate For Jeep Tj on 2040-parts.com

New Nissan Micra loses ground in Europe over quality issues and no diesel option

Nissan Micra Sales fall in Europe Nissan trumpeted the new Micra as its ‘Global Compact Car’ in the run-up to its reveal at Geneva last year. And by ‘Global’ they meant ‘Produced in Emerging Markets’. Which is a big change from the last generation Micra which was produced in Sunderland, but a move that seemed to make sense in a world where small cars in emerging markets are a priority, and where cost of production is much lower.

VW Amarok: Volkswagen pick-up comes to UK in 2011

Volkswagen will launch the Amarok pick-up truck in the UK in spring 2011. It’s the first time since the 1980s that a VW pick-up has been sold in Britain. VW plans to sell just a couple of thousand Amaroks a year in the UK in a full year; the big markets for this truck are utility-centric markets such as Australia and both north and south America (the VW Amarok is built in Argentina).

Ariel moves from Atoms to motorbikes in 2012

Ariel - famous to motorists for its skeletal Atom sports car - will start making motorbikes again in 2012. CAR's sister publication biking bible MCN today publishes the full story of the new Ariel superbike, likely to be priced around £20,000. Owner Simon Saunders told MCN Ariel would build the new bikes in the UK, but they would use Honda engines like the Atom sports car.