Ford Bell Housing C7za-6394-a on 2040-parts.com

Subaru Tribeca, Mazda 6 on the chopping block, report says

Two U.S.-built Japan-brand vehicles may soon get the ax. The Subaru Tribeca SUV and Mazda6 mid-sized sedan will be discontinued as their manufacturers seek to improve the efficiency of U.S. assembly plants, a Japan newspaper says.

Renault Megane Renaultsport 275 Trophy-R Special Edition celebrates Nurburgring record

The Renault Megane Renaultsport 275 Trophy-R (pictured) breaks a Nurburgring record We knew Renault were planning to take the Megane Renaultsport 275 Trophy to the Nurburgring to have a crack at the FWD production car record and wrestle it back from the SEAT Lean Cupra 280. After some extreme weight saving measures – and some chassis tweaks – Renault managed to push the 275 Trophy round the Nordschleife in 7min 53.4 seconds, beating the SEAT’s time of 7min 58.4 seconds to take the record (video below). But not being one’s to miss a marketing opportunity, Renault has decided that they should celebrate the Nurburgring record with a new limited edition Megane – the Megane Renaultsport 275 Trophy-R Special Edition.

Caterham CSR 175 – Tokyo Catchup

The CAterham CSR 175 revealed at Tokyo We reported a few weeks ago that with the economic crisis still enveloping car makers round the world the Tokyo Motor Show was going to be almost exclusively domestic. Just Lotus – who brought the limited edition Lotus Scura – and Alpina – who brought the LWB B7 – were expected to be there to represent the rest of the world. But Caterham – inheritors of Colin Chapman’s Lotus 7  heritage – took advantage of some cheap floor space and turned up with a new car – the Caterham CSR 175./p> The CSR is Caterham’s top of the range, and this CSR 175 slots in as the bottom of the top – if that makes sense.