Walter 601exp Turbine, Comp 8 on 2040-parts.com

Car Sales On The Rise But Buyers Seek To Pay Less

LATEST industry data has shown that car buying is on the increase, however budget-savvy prospective buyers want to pay less for their new wheels. Data from Sainsbury's Bank has revealed that as many as 18% of adults are looking to buy a new car in the months up to and including February 2014. And while this is a healthy 28% increase on those who planned purchases in the last six months, those now thinking about buying are likely to pay averages out at £9,934, which is 3.5% down on the figure for the last six months.

MINI: Meet the MINI Family Video

MINI sends us a 2011 family video Many moan that MINI has become a parody under BMW, but the truth is that it’s just become an enormous success with BMW doing what BL tried to do a generation ago – and failed. BL failed to grow and develop the Mini beyond the 1960s, although it had success in the ’60s with badge-engineered Minis (Riley Elf, Wolsely Hornet), Mini Coopers and Countrymans, and even a grown-up Mini – the Austin/Morris 1100. So BMW are really only carrying on what BL did in the ’60s, just in spades.

Hyundai Veloster Midship concept shows what the Veloster could be

The Hyundai Veloster Midship at the Busan Motor Show The Hyundai Veloster is actually a perfectly capable – if slightly quirky - sports car, which promises much but doesn’t actually deliver in terms of performance. In fact, when we  reviewed the Hyundai Veloster a couple of years ago with its 1.6 litre petrol engine, we wondered if Hyundai would have been better giving the Veloster a diesel lump instead, which would at least have made its paucity of power less of a problem with more torque to play with. And the Veloster Turbo isn’t a huge amount better, only offering 184 bhp and taking 8.4 seconds to get to 62mph; figures we would have expected from the base Veloster if it were to be a properly credible competitor in the sector.