Meritor Dash Control Valve, Rkn20025 on 2040-parts.com

Lexus, Subaru, Mazda score highest Consumer Reports' rankings

Japanese brands, led by Lexus, Subaru and Mazda, continue to dominate Consumer Reports' rankings of the best light vehicles on the market, claiming "top pick" honors in seven out of 10 product segments and capturing the top seven spots for overall brand reliability and performance. The brands that scored best on the magazine's report cards for 2013 were Lexus, with a score of 79 out of 100, followed by Subaru and Mazda, which both scored a 76. Toyota, Acura, Honda and Scion rounded out the top seven.

The Alliance on Winter Tyres: The world’s gone MAD

Philip Hammond dropped a clanger on Winter Tyres We’ve banged on about Winter tyres to anyone who’ll listen – and those that won’t – for longer than we care to remember. And we’ll continue to do so. Winter tyres can offer better grip in crappy conditions than driving an SUV.

BMW M550d xDrive (2012) - the diesel M saloon

BMW has launched its first diesel M car: the new M550d xDrive in saloon and Touring estate forms. It's part of a strategy to fill the gap between the exclusive M GmbH division cars and the top-end cosmetic M Sport trim lines with a new range of M lite: BMW M Performance Automobiles. Developed by the engineers responsible for the M3, M5 et al, the new M550d xDrive is powered by a new high-output version of the 3.0-litre straight six turbodiesel packing not one, not two, but three turbochargers.