Chevy 216 Engine on 2040-parts.com

Beijing motor show: China means (auto) business

By Guy Bird Motor Shows 22 April 2008 05:34 Only a fool wandering around this week's Beijing motor show would still dismiss China as some also-ran automotive market full of rip-off designs and outdated ‘new’ cars based on old Western designs. While all of those clichés were still in evidence at the Chinese auto show, the copycat mentality is much less obvious than even a year ago at last year's Shanghai show. And every western car exec CAR spoke to was in awe of the upward sales trajectory that means China is still the place to do business in 2008.Yes, there are still some odd automotive fish, usually small ‘three-box’ saloon in shape such as the Chinese market only Citroen C-Elysee and the VW Lavida (a Jetta/Bora Plus car with less style).

Call over winter transport issues

MORE MUST BE DONE to enable transport systems to cope with bad winter weather, a report by MPs said today. Recent floods and gales showed that disruption was not just caused by snow, the report by the House of Commons Transport Committee said. Transport's winter resilience had improved but there was a risk that a few years of mild winter weather "could lead to a false sense of security and reduce the sector's preparedness over the longer term", the report said.

Vauxhall Astra tweaked & Astra GTC BiTurbo diesel

The Vauxhall Astra Hatch and Sports Tourer (Estate) have been given a bit of a facelift and the Astra GTC BiTurbo diesel has arrived. It’s probably a bit of a stretch to call what Vauxhall has done to the Astra Hatch and Astra Sport Tourer a facelift, but it’s enough of a tweak for those who’ve just bought a new Astra to be less than thrilled. The main changes to the hatch and estate are a new grill, new indicators and new fog lights; a minor rhinoplasty.