Sea Dog Stainless Louvered Vent - Oval 331405 on 2040-parts.com

Volvo V40 (2012) first official pictures

This is the all-new Volvo V40, the Swedish car company’s latest rival to the Ford Focus, VW Golf et al. It will be officially unveiled at the 2012 Geneva motor show next month. Volvo is being particularly bullish about the prospects of its new V40, with Volvo president and CEO Stefan Jacoby claiming the new model ‘will give our toughest competitors a headache’.

Alfa Romeo roadster to be twinned with Mazda MX-5

Mazda and Fiat today announced a new deal to develop future sports cars jointly. A new affordable Alfa Romeo roadster will be built - in Japan - from 2015. The non-binding memorandum of understanding covers the development and manufacturing of a new roadster for the Mazda and Alfa Romeo marques based on Mazda’s next-generation MX-5 rear-wheel-drive architecture, according to the statement issued this morning.

Minicars perform poorly in crash tests, study says

Minicars made by Toyota, Honda and Daimler AG did poorly on frontal crash tests with mid-sized automobiles, prompting an influential safety organization to suggest consumers consider buying larger cars that have comparable fuel economy. The Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit and Smart ForTwo all collapsed upon impact into the space around the driver dummy, according to the study released today by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Drivers in all three vehicles faced high risk of head and leg injuries after test collisions at 40 miles an hour, even after airbags inflated, said the non-profit group funded by auto insurers.