For-60073 on 2040-parts.com

BMW 1 Series dead in US after 2013

With its successor set to bow at the Detroit Auto Show in a couple of months' time, word's come down from BMW that 2013 will indeed be the end of the line for the BMW 1 Series — at least in the US. It will remain available elsewhere in the world as a three-door and five-door hatch. The coupe and convertible, meanwhile, are being replaced by the 2 Series, in convention with BMW's new naming scheme.

Better Place EV Battery Swap business goes bust

It seemed like a good idea: take the cost of batteries out of the cost of buying an electric car and instead charge EV owners to use ‘Battery Swap’ stations where depleted batteries could be swapped for fully charged ones in the time it takes to fill an ICE car with petrol. But it’s all gone a bit Pete Tong. Better Place – which partnered with Renault in 2009 to make the battery swap technology viable – has failed to find anyone to add to the $750 million already involved in the project and has filed for bankruptcy.

Best petrol price falls since 2008

MOTORISTS are enjoying the biggest fall in petrol prices since the credit crunch days of 2008. But the AA has warned that a further dip in prices is unlikely. Average petrol prices in the UK fell 5.49p a litre between mid September and mid-October - the biggest monthly fall since the 11.5p petrol price collapse in November 2008, the AA said.