Valve Spring Compressor on 2040-parts.com

Mini Countryman updated – details of the 2013 facelift

Mini has given the Countryman baby SUV a mid-life facelift two years after launch. Key changes include a smarter interior, a range of new colours and cleaner engines. So what's new on the 2013 Mini Countryman?

News watch Feb 2010: today's auto industry news

Tuesday 2 February 2010• Spyker has outlined its plans for Saab, which include a new 'all Saab' 9-3 to be launched in 2012. Read the full story here (Saab)• EuroNCAP has named the VW Golf as 'Safest Car of 2009' after ranking all the 33 models it crashed last year (Volkswagen) • Toyota's massive recall to fix fault accelerator pedals could cost the company £1.25bn in lost output and sales (BBC)• Ford will unveil an Edge SUV at next week's Chicago auto show with a turbocharged four-cylinder Ecoboost engine, but the extensive visual mid-life facelift has been made economically possible thanks to Ford's worldwide consolidation of its model ranges (Detroit News) • Toyota has denied that it ignored warnings and acted slowly over reports of unintended acceleration in its vehicles (Detroit News) Monday 1 February 2010• Lotus's vehicle engineering director Roger Becker announced his retirement today. Becker, 64, joined Lotus in 1966, worked alongside Colin Chapman and helped develop every single model since (Group Lotus)• Tata Motors' total sales last month hit 65,478 vehicles – a rise of 77% over January 2009.

Concils 'confident' over winter salt stockpiles

COUNCILS are confident they can cope with bad-weather conditions on the roads this winter. A survey shows that local authorities in England and Wales have stockpiled more salt for this winter than last. A total of 1.3 million tonnes was stockpiled for winter 2012/13 and the Local Government Association (LGA) shows that 95% of councils are either maintaining or increasing stock levels this winter.