Magnaflow Exhaust Systems - 17998 on 2040-parts.com

Holden to stop making cars in Australia

Fresh from the news that General Motors (GM) will be pulling its Chevrolet brand out of mainstream markets in Europe, the automotive giant has now confirmed that its Australian subsidiary, Holden, will stop making cars Down Under by the end of 2017. It’s further bad news for GM, but even more so for the 2,900 Australian people who are set to lose their jobs as a result of the closure. And it’s a sad and disappointing end for the famous Holden marque, which can trace its history back as far as 1856.

PSA: Your Green With Envy 2011 Dodge Challenger is on the way

Detroit can be a hard place to live, but for the car-inclined, it's also dotted with daily treasures that make the trouble worthwhile: Perhaps there's a manufacturer-plated Alfa Giulietta parked at the grocery store. A Chevrolet Volt parade cruising up Woodward Avenue on a random Wednesday. Or my treat this morning, a truckload of Green With Envy 2011 Dodge Challenger R/T Classics on their way to market.

2012 European Car of the Year shortlist announced

The shortlist for the 2012 European Car of the Year award has been announced today. There were 35 cars on the original list, but the first round of voting from the 59 jury members (including CAR Magazine’s editor Phil McNamara, and our European correspondent Georg Kacher) has whittled the list down to just seven. They are… • Citroen DS5• Fiat Panda• Focus Focus• Opel (Vauxhall) Ampera/Chevrolet Volt• Range Rover Evoque• Toyota Yaris• Volkswagen Up There will now be a second round of test drives, before the European Car of the Year jurors submit their scores and a winner is announced live at the Geneva motor show on 5 March 2012.