F150new 2004 High Mounted Stop Lamp 130458 on 2040-parts.com

The fall and rise of the budget car

Twenty years ago, the classic bargain brands like Lada seemed to be going the same way as the Soviet empire that spawned them. Woefully dated and badly made, only a weirdo would have bought a new Lada rather than a second-hand model from Ford, Vauxhall or VW. However, one of the big trends in the car industry today is the re-emergence of bargain cars.

Citroen DS3 Racing concept car (2010) first pictures

This is Citroen taking a swipe at the Mini Cooper S Works – and giving us a hint at what Sebastian Leob will be driving in next year’s WRC. The DS3 Racing is a pumped up version of the new C3-based premium supermini and just 1000 will be finished at the workshops of Citroen Racing, the team behind 11 rally championship titles. Based on the production 1.6 THP, the Racing version gets tweaks to the turbo, exhaust and engine management system to boost power from 148bhp to 197bhp and add 26lb ft of twist for a 203lb ft total.

Keating TKR at MPH Show

The World's fastest car - the Keating TKR Not heard of the Keating TKR? Probably our fault for not running anything before. But it does make interesting reading so we’re remiss in not doing so before.