Lotus's glimmer of hope: Proton stands by Hethel

After another painful year of sales for Lotus in the UK – down 58% on 2011 - Norfolk's beleagured sports car brand has kicked off the New Year with the grand unveiling of its new flagship Malaysian showroom, and the thumbs-up from senior Proton company suits that Lotus isn't on its last legs. The announcement comes in the same week Lotus’s sales figures were released for 2012. Showing a substantial 58% decrease in sales and selling just 137 vehicles, Lotus Cars was the worst performer in the UK with a woeful 0.01% share of the market.  Are Lotus's Malaysian owners sticking by the company?

BMW open up shop on eBay – BMW Direct

BMW - open for business on eBay Remarkably, BMW are the first car maker to open up shop on eBay in the UK – BMW Direct – and although such a move would have been frowned on just a few years ago it now makes huge sense. It’s clear that this is aimed at parts for older BMWs – where owners wouldn’t normally consider visiting a BMW dealer to grab parts to keep their pride and joy on the road – rather than aiming at the owner of a new M5 grabbing a set of pads to shove on over the weekend. But the biggest scope is for accessories - genuine BMW accessories being the key – with just a mouse-click away from a buy for everything from a new set of 19″  alloys at £3,300  to a BMW Windscreen?/Window/Glass Cleaner + Telescopic Handle at £5.95.

Jaguar teases arrival of new XJ sedan

With the launch date of the redesigned XJ sedan drawing closer, Jaguar is starting to prime the pump by releasing an overhead view of the new car. The teaser shot gives us a look at the car's glass panoramic roof. The new XJ, which we expect to get a clear look at late this summer, uses a reengineered version of the current XJ's aluminum chassis.