Ram Magnaflow Exhaust Systems - 16868 on 2040-parts.com

Toyota Etios – teased ahead of India launch +video

The Toyota Etiso debuts in Delhi this week Toyota has been doing little teases on a new cheap saloon for emerging markets, and we know the plan is to launch the Toyota Etios on the Indian public on Friday (6th January). We also know that the Etios is Toyota’s cheap, mass-market car with which they hope to take on the current market leaders Suzuki (oh, alright, strictly speaking it’s Maruti in India – but it’s the same thing) and it’s going to get the 1.4 diesel out of the Yaris and probably a 1.2 petrol as well. The Etios will appeal to the rising wealth of middle-class India.

Jaguar Land Rover to build new £400m Engine Plant in Wolverhampton

New JLR Engine Plant to be built in Wolverhampton Update 19th September: Jaguar has now confirmed our story, although the cost is expected to be £335 million and the number of new jobs 750. We’d guess the 2,00 jobs we quoted in the original story includes jobs created in the supply chain. Work is expected to start on the new engine plant in early 2012.

Natural-gas-powered Honda Civic can stay in California carpool lane

Honda Civic GX drivers in California are smiling this week as they continue to have access to the high-occupancy-vehicle lane, even with just one person in the car. Even though one-occupant hybrid cars have lost access to the carpool lane, natural-gas-powered vehicles get to use it for another four years. Beginning on July 1, yellow-stickered partial hybrids were banned from HOV areas on the highways unless they carried the mandated number of people.