Model A, Early Ford Rear View Mirror on 2040-parts.com

Investindustrial take 37.5 per cent stake in Aston Martin

InvestIndustrial – former owners of Ducati – have taken a 37.5 per cent stake in Aston Martin for £150 million. We’ve been proclaiming for more than a year that Aston Martin needs new investment, and AML finally confirmed as much a few weeks ago. And just yesterday we revealed a deal for Aston Martin was now a one horse race.

Subaru BRZ (2012) insurance groups announced

Subaru has announced the BRZ sports car will fall into insurance group 30, with higher-end SE Lux models in group 31. How does the Subaru BRZ's insurance compare to its rivals? Tricky question, since the BRZ, as a £25k, rear-drive 2+2 coupe, doesn't have much in the way of brand new, direct rivals (save for its Toyota GT86 sister of course).

Volkswagen Passat Alltrack: The VW Allroad arrives

The VW Passat Alltrack - debuts in Tokyo Volkswagen has jumped on to the Allroad bandwagon with its own take on Audi’s faux off-roader, with the reveal of the 2012 VW Passat Alltrack. As you would expect, the Passat Alltrack is a butched-up Passat Estate with a raised ride height, extra bits of plastic round the bumpers, skid plates, flared side sills and 4WD – VW’s 4MOTION – for more traction in boot sale car parks. But when you don’t need the 4WD, around 90 poer cent of the drive is through the front wheels – saving fuel – with the rear wheel drive only coming in to play when you start to slip and slide.