Porsche 924s 944 Idle Control Valve on 2040-parts.com

Lotus not liquidating

When a storied car brand moves only 137 units in a year in the UK and 242 in the US, predictions of said marque's demise carry a certain amount of weight -- 137 is not exactly a number that makes an automaker too big to fail. When the manufacturer in question shows up on a government list of companies to be shut down, brand-enthusiast hearts get heavy; the early stages of mourning kick in. But when the company in question is Lotus, the enthusiast thinks to himself, “Eh, they've been in dire straits before.

Driven: Mini Countryman

There has been no more contentious a car launched this year than the Mini Countryman. It's been labeled by some as sacrilegious to the very essence of the Mini brand, of 'selling out' and, yes, of being ugly. But does the concept of a four-meter Mini translate to use in the real world?

New Peugeot 308 (2014) revealed ahead of debut at 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show

The new Peugeot 308 - revealed this morning ahead of a debut at Frankfurt in September and an on sale date in the UK of January 2014 – moves the 308 further towards the sector leaders with a new car – built on PSA’s new EMP2 platform – that’s a bit shorter and a bit lower than the old 308, and looks a lot slicker. The nose of the new 308 is lower than before and it sports Peugeot’s new, more refined, grill with slime LED headlights and manages to look like a convincing big brother to the new 208, with elements borrowed from the Onyx Concept too with the back end sporting LEDs that create three ‘Lion Claws’ in their graphic (like the Jaguar XJ). Inside, Peugeot have created what they call an ‘i-cockpit’ layout with a big centre console featuring a 9.7″ touchscreen that takes the place of most of the buttons you used to get, allowing Peugeot to create a dash with a sleek and uncluttered feel and heads-up instruments.