98 99 00 01 02 Forester L. Front Door Switch 31803 on 2040-parts.com

Last 2013 MINI leaves the production line to make way for the new 2014 MINI

The last 2013 MINI rolls off MINI’s production line It’s only ten days since the all new 2014 MINI was revealed, but already production of the current MINI – launched in 2006 – has ended at MINI’s production plant in Oxford. It’s hard to believe, but the current generation of the MIN I has sold over 1 million around the globe in the seven years since it launched, and the BMW MINI – since its re-birth in 2001 – has shifted a grand total of 1,863,289 MINI hatches and 2.4 million MINIs have been built in Oxford since 2001. When the current, 2nd generation BMW MINI, was launched in 2006, it brought with it new turbocharged engines and suspension tweaks to make sure the then ‘new’ MINI continued to offer all the things that make MINI special, but in a more grow-up way.

Jaguar XF axed

What happens when a new Jaguar has gone from clay model to production car? It seems at Jaguar it gets axed. Don’t panic.

BMW M550d xDrive (2012) - the diesel M saloon

BMW has launched its first diesel M car: the new M550d xDrive in saloon and Touring estate forms. It's part of a strategy to fill the gap between the exclusive M GmbH division cars and the top-end cosmetic M Sport trim lines with a new range of M lite: BMW M Performance Automobiles. Developed by the engineers responsible for the M3, M5 et al, the new M550d xDrive is powered by a new high-output version of the 3.0-litre straight six turbodiesel packing not one, not two, but three turbochargers.