Spi 01 142 External Ignition on 2040-parts.com

BMW i8 production car revealed – costs £99,845: Frankfurt 2013

The new BMW i8 Hybrid (pictured) will cost £100k in the UK The BMW i8 jas finally arrived in production guise at the Frankfurt Motor show, neatly creating the top end of BMW’s new i-brand range after the BMW i3 underlined the starting point. Looking really quite appealing, the i8 uses the same carbon fibre reinforced plastic bodyshell and aluminium chassis construction as the i3, but whereas the i3 is built to be a city car, the i8 is the closest we’re likely to get to a 21st century version of the BMW M1. Similar in size to the Audi R8, the BMW i8 is a 2+2 with a 3-cylinder 1.5 litre engine and generator sitting at the back and driving the rear wheels and an electric motor at the front driving the front wheels, with a petrol tank at the back and the batteries for the electric motor stored in the centre tunnel.

Ford burns through $5.5 billion in 4th quarter as losses mount

Ford Motor Co., the only U.S. automaker operating without federal loans, burned through $5.5 billion in cash during the final three months of 2008 as losses mounted. Ford finished the year with cash reserves of $13.4 billion.

First Sight: Renault Clio

The Clio is perhaps the most successful and certainly the longest standing model of the Renault range and this is the new third-generation version of this European market small B-sector hatchback. When the first generation Clio replaced the Renault 5 in 1990 it was the smallest car in the Renault line up, now the Clio is one of a small range of similarly-sized Renault models all based off the same platform shared with the Nissan Micra/March and Cube.   Specification The Clio will be launched first as a three-door with the five-door to follow, and will be available with a choice of petrol 1.2-litre (75hp), 1.4-litre (98hp) and 1.6-litre (113hp), and a 1.5-litre dCi diesel engine in a choice of three power outputs: 70hp, 86hp and 106hp.