2000 Mercury Cougar Cruise Control. Speed Regulator Unit on 2040-parts.com

New car sales up by 3% on 2013

ANOTHER RISE in new car sales in February has meant purchases have increased every month for two years. A total of 68,736 vehicles were registered last month - a 3% rise on the total for February 2013, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said. Sales for the first two months of this year have totalled 223,298 - a 6.1% rise on the total for the first two months of 2013 SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said the two years of continuous growth was "a real endorsement of consumer confidence and the attractiveness of the new car market".

Audi to build cars in Mexico

Volkswagen Group has settled on Mexico as the location for a factory for Audi. The Audi supervisory board decided in favor of Mexico over a site next to VW's factory in Chattanooga, Tenn., which opened last year to build the VW Passat. The Mexico plant will provide a boost to the VW Group’s sales prospects and manufacturing operations in North America, where its light vehicle output rose 25 percent in 2011 to a record 542,363 units.

Volvo set to excite with new Concept XC Coupe

VOLVO’S new design language has been taken to the next level with the first glimpse of a concept that previews its future ‘XC’ series of cars. The Concept XC Coupe will be given its full debut at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in January, but Volvo has released a trio of pictures as a teaser ahead of time. In each of the pictures the car is capped by a slimline roof box, which hints at its lifestyle aspirations.