Beck/arnley 173-8018 Distributor Rotor Ford Probe on 2040-parts.com

June sales get a pick-me-up from pickups

If there's a bright spot in June's tepid light-vehicle sales, it came from an unlikely segment. After slumping for several years as the economy tanked and gas prices spiked, pickup demand is rising faster than the overall sales gains of most automakers--serving as a pillar once again during the industry's fledgling recovery. And most of the buyers returning to showrooms are pickup enthusiasts, automakers say.

Van 'driven wrong way on motorway'

A MAN has been charged with five offences after a van was stolen and driven for nearly 50 miles the wrong way along a motorway. Officers were called at about 1.40am on Wednesday after a white Transit van was taken from Stock Road in Billericay, Essex. The vehicle was driven to Harlow where it joined the M11, travelling north on the southbound carriageway.

Honda CR-Z Mugen (2011): the first sketches

This is our first glimpse of the new, Mugen-tweaked Honda CR-Z. Developed by Mugen Euro, the UK-based arm of Honda’s long-standing tuning partner Mugen, this CR-Z features a whole raft of tweaks to turn it into a hot hybrid. As with the previous UK-spec Civic Type R Mugen, this new Mugen model is currently being touted as a one-off prototype, but just as that Civic was then built in limited numbers the same may happen with the CR-Z – and the individual parts may become available as aftermarket accessories too.