Ford Shelby American Automobile Club Newsletter on 2040-parts.com

Hyundai make it in to UK Top Ten best-selling car makers

Hyundai has become the first Korean car maker to make it in to the top ten best selling car makers in the UK, with sales of 74,000 in 2012. It’s taken a few years to shake off the ‘Cheap Car’ tag, but Hyundai are now offering a range of cars – certainly in the mainstream – that can be compared on ability, design and quality with the best of the competition. That quantum change in perception in the last few years about the desirability of a Hyundai has now translated in to Hyundai becoming one of the top ten best-selling car brands in the UK, a first for a Korean car maker and a real sign that Hyundai is now accepted as a real competitor – not a ‘Budget’ brand.

'Spen' King, father of the Range Rover, dies

Charles Spencer "Spen" King, a British engineer and father of the original Range Rover, died on June 26 at age 85. King passed away as a result of injuries sustained when his bicycle collided with a van earlier this month. King entered the auto business in 1942 as an apprentice for Rolls-Royce before going to work for his uncles, Spencer and Maurice Wilks, at Rover.

Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid: Production to double to cope with demand

It’s particularly appealing if you like a car with a decent turn of speed – the V60 will do 0-62mph in 6.1 seconds – like the reassurance and practicality of 4WD – the V60′s electric motor drives the back wheels – drive in to London on a regular basis – the 48g/km emissions are congestion charge free – and get taxed as BIK from your company. If all those apply – and you already appreciate the Volvo V60 is a very good car to start with – then the V60 plug-in hybrid is a bit of a no-brainer, even with a headline price of nearly £50k (which gets within £6k of an equivalent non plug-in after the taxpayer has chipped in). It seems that many buyers agree, and Volvo is being inundated with orders.