Jeep Wrangler Yj Wiper Arm on 2040-parts.com

Ellesmere Port's bid to build Ampera hits snags

By Rob Golding Motor Industry 09 October 2009 15:02 Prime minister Gordon Brown’s personal crusade to get Vauxhall's version of the Chevrolet Volt petrol-electric plug-in hybrid – the Ampera – built in Britain's Ellesmere Port factory in 2012 is a dream delayed, CAR can disclose today.News that the UK Astra plant is the best in Europe, that the Astra's Delta platform will underpin the Ampera, and that Volt will be on US sale from 2010 had been taken to mean that Vauxhall would be churning out the cars in the north west within three years.But the prospect of an electric car industry growing up around the run-down Merseyside manufacturing site is not imminent, CAR has learned.'No Ampera to be built in Europe before 2015'Vauxhall insiders have made it clear that the car to be known as the Vauxhall/Opel Ampera in Europe will be an import from the US for at least five years. One senior planner told us: 'The US will be the sole source of Amperas until at least 2015.'Bob Lutz, GM's former product supremo who recently came out of retirement as a PR, said that the low value of the dollar made the US an ideal site for the manufacturing of export cars. And with forecast sticker prices of the range-extender electric car standing at a scary £35,000+, every price saving is vital to its marketability.The European market also needs time to get its electricity recharge infrastructure in place before it is worth making cars onshore in volume, GM high-ups point out.

Porsche 918 Spyder (2013) at Frankfurt motor show

This is the new Porsche 918 Spyder, and it’s just been unveiled on the eve of the 2013 Frankfurt motor show. The Porsche 918 Spyder is the successor to the legendary Carrera GT, uses a race-derived engine, hits 62mph in 2.8 seconds, and will reach 214mph. But the Porsche 918 Spyder is also very different to the Carrera GT, because it’s a hybrid and promises Toyota Prius-like levels of parsimony.

Spyker announces future product plans for Saab

Spyker revealed its product plans for Saab on Monday, and they envision a core lineup of three or four model lines rooted in a premium image. Spyker says Saab will be anchored by the 9-3, the 9-4X and the 9-5. A smaller car line, the 9-1, could be added, though it's not part of the current plan.