Cardone 53-5410 Power Brake Unit on 2040-parts.com

Lotus Exige S V6 hits the U.K.

Most recent Lotus news has been generated by a rumor that Volkswagen is considering buying the British brand's parent company, Proton. But Lotus didn't let that keep it from making a little news of its own. The long-awaited first production Lotus Exige S V6 rolled off the line Thursday in Hethel, Norfolk, in the United Kingdom.

Crunch watch Dec 08: the auto industry in crisis

By Tim Pollard and Simon Stiel Motor Industry 31 December 2008 14:05 Wednesday 31 December 2008• GMAC, GM's finance arm, said it would immediately revise its criteria for providing loans, after the US government bail-out of the General's credit arm. It will now supply credit for anyone with a score of 621 or more on the Fico scale, the scale used to assess Amercian customers' creditworthiness (Financial Times)• The news means that 80% of US consumers would now qualify for a loan from GMAC – which should improve sales in the depressed US market (Detroit News)• Chrysler is being lambasted for taking out full-page adverts in the American national press thanking the nation for supporting its auto industry. But critics point out this is a fresh waste of bail-out resources, as pages in the Wall Street Journal – one of the titles in which the ad ran – reportedly cost up to $264,000.

Lotus offers supercharger kits for the Elise and the Exige

Lotus enthusiasts looking to wring a little more power out of their rides now have a potent option: a supercharger kit for the Elise and Exige models. The kits boost power in the naturally aspirated versions from about 189 hp to 218 hp and improve torque from 133 lb-ft to 155 lb-ft. Even better, this added power comes on quicker, with peak torque coming on at 5,000 rpm, rather than 6,800 rpm.