Mercury Trim Unit on 2040-parts.com

McLaren Production Centre opened by PM David Cameron

Call me Dave at Woking with Ron, Jen & Lew The launch of McLaren Automotive and the McLaren MP4-12C has been a bit of a roller coaster ride for Ron Dennis and McLaren. The reviews of the MP4-12C were overwhelmingly positive – with a few small caveats – and the press, on the whole, loved that McLaren were taking on the might of Ferrari with a car that truly was its match. But there have been a few hiccups along the way.

Volkswagen takes stake in Suzuki

VW takes a 19.9% stake in Suzuki We’re back on the co-operation and rationalisation path again, this time with Volkswagen and Suzuki, with the announcement that VW is to take a 19.9% stake in Suzuki, with Suzuki in turn re-investing up to half of the proceeds in to Volkswagen shares. This deal has been on the cards for some time but has obviously been pushed in to reality by the changing landscape for car manufacturers, where they seek to find a more secure future with takeovers, mergers and partnerships. Which is all very logical, even if it will inevitably lead to less choice for the car buyer in the long term.

De Tomaso plans to unveil new Pantera

Following the unveiling of its new Pininfarina-designed Deauville at the Geneva motor show earlier this year, De Tomaso is planning to unveil a new Pantera at September's Frankfurt motor show. The new Pantera, arguably De Tomaso's best-known sports car, will maintain its traditional American Corvette V8 engine, producing over 600 horsepower. De Tomaso is hoping that sales of the Deauville crossover will contribute towards the development of a new 'primal concrete sledge'.