2008 Yamaha Raptor 350 Handlebar Clamp on 2040-parts.com

Crunch watch July 09: the auto industry in crisis

By Tim Pollard, Ben Pulman, Ben Whitworth and Alex Michaelides Motor Industry 31 July 2009 11:23 Welcome to CAR's news aggregator as we round up the seismic change in the auto industry. Top tip: news summaries are added from the top hour-by-hour  Friday 31 July 2009• Lamborghini today posted pre-tax profits of €5.4 million – despite a sales drop of 37% in the first six months of 2009. Sant'Agata said turnover hit €156.9m in the first half (down 43%) as it sold 825 cars globally (Lamborghini)• British motorists could have to pay £250 in tax to park at work from 2012.

Ssangyong e-XIV EV Concept at Paris 2012

Ssangyong are continuing their concept offensive with the e-XIV EV Concept, a range extender compact SUV. Mahindra seem intent on turning Ssangyong from the Lada of Korea in to another South Korean car maker to be taken seriously. We’ve recently seen a big push for the Korando SX, with Ssangyong pitching it hard against the competition as the cheapest way in to a compact SUV, and at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year we had a concept pointing to the next generation compact SUV from Ssangyong with the convertible Ssangyong XIV-2.

Nissan LEAF EV does 367mpg!

Nissan are claiming their LEAF will do 367mpg, in response to the claim that the Chevy Volt will do 230mpg! As we said, it’s all pretty meaningless. Like comparing apples and oranges.