Harley Manifold 27614-99 on 2040-parts.com

2011 Mercedes C-Class Facelift leak

Is this the 2011 Mercedes C-Class Facelift? The current Mercedes C-Class is due a facelift in 2011 and we’re expecting the revamped Mercedes to put in its debut appearance at the Detroit Motor Show in January. But it looks like a bit of Mercedes’ thunder may have been stolen if the photo above is a genuine leak.

Ellesmere Port's bid to build Ampera hits snags

By Rob Golding Motor Industry 09 October 2009 15:02 Prime minister Gordon Brown’s personal crusade to get Vauxhall's version of the Chevrolet Volt petrol-electric plug-in hybrid – the Ampera – built in Britain's Ellesmere Port factory in 2012 is a dream delayed, CAR can disclose today.News that the UK Astra plant is the best in Europe, that the Astra's Delta platform will underpin the Ampera, and that Volt will be on US sale from 2010 had been taken to mean that Vauxhall would be churning out the cars in the north west within three years.But the prospect of an electric car industry growing up around the run-down Merseyside manufacturing site is not imminent, CAR has learned.'No Ampera to be built in Europe before 2015'Vauxhall insiders have made it clear that the car to be known as the Vauxhall/Opel Ampera in Europe will be an import from the US for at least five years. One senior planner told us: 'The US will be the sole source of Amperas until at least 2015.'Bob Lutz, GM's former product supremo who recently came out of retirement as a PR, said that the low value of the dollar made the US an ideal site for the manufacturing of export cars. And with forecast sticker prices of the range-extender electric car standing at a scary £35,000+, every price saving is vital to its marketability.The European market also needs time to get its electricity recharge infrastructure in place before it is worth making cars onshore in volume, GM high-ups point out.

Preview: Fisker Surf

Fisker has released the first image of its new Surf vehicle, set to debut at the 2011 Frankfurt motor show. Focusing on continuing with the company's philosophy, 'Pure Driving Passion' - the electric vehicle with extender range is said to be akin to the Fisker Karma sedan, but Fisker has intriguingly promised a new twist. Other than this and the sole image of the Surf, details of the car have been kept secret in the build-up to this year's Frankfurt motor show. CDN will be bringing you all the details and pictures from the show next week.