New Dorman Wheel Hub, 930-016 on 2040-parts.com

Mercedes' production Bluetec diesel SUVs

By Ben Pulman First Official Pictures 13 March 2008 17:14 Europe loves diesel, America doesn’t, so welcome to the US-only Mercedes Bluetec SUVs. The R, ML and GL 320 Bluetec diesels will be launched in America in autumn 2008, but won’t be coming to Europe yet. The three SUVs, which Mercedes claims come with the world’s latest and cleanest diesel engine, may not even make it to the UK.  All three come with a 3.0-litre diesel engine that has revised piston crowns, a lower compression ratio, and a new turbocharger and ECU.

Subaru XV gets a price cut – down by £1300 on 1.6 litre versions

It wasn’t a bad starting point for an able mid-sized crossover – a high-riding Impreza, in all but name –  but it wasn’t the cheapest offering in the class. But now, with the Yen being a bit kinder to Japanese car makers, Subaru has decided to nudge the price a bit lower to start the XV range off below £20k for the first time. The price drop for the XV only applies to the 1.6 litre petrol versions, but you can now get the entry-level XV 1.6i S for a more affordable £19,995 rising to £23,415 for the XV 1.6i SE with the Lineartronic gearbox, reductions across the range of £1300.

Concept Car of the Week: Citroën Karin (1980)

With the 1980 Paris Motor show approaching and no new model to unveil, Citroën needed something to wow the crowds on its home turf. Trevor Fiore – who followed Robert Opron as the head of Citroën Design for a short time – gave the go-ahead for an innovative concept starting from a blank sheet of paper. The final concept was named Karin, and it was nothing short of breathtaking.