Volvo Duoprop Upper Sterndrive Dp-sm 1.95 on 2040-parts.com

Ford justifies its Vignale sub-brand (video)

The Ford Mondeo Vignale (pictured). Ford’s first Vignale-badged car Earlier this month, as the Frankfurt Motor Show approached, Ford revealed that it’s going back to a sales tactic they created in the 1970s – badge-engineering their cars with a coachbuilders name to create an upmarket sub-brand. Last time Ford played this game we had almost 30 years for the Ford Ghia, a range of Ford’s mainstream models that had all the toys as standard to try and create an appealing high-end option for buyers.

Redesigned 2012 BMW 3-series revealed

BMW has revealed its sixth-generation 3-series sedan. The new model is the first in an unprecedented six-car lineup that will include a five-door GT and a four-door GranCoupe for the first time. BMW plans to put the car on sale across North America in February as a 2012 model.

Maserati GranTurismo S Auto gets a Sports Pack

Maserati GranTurismo S Auto - now with Sport Pack for an extra £4k The Maserati GranTurismo S Auto is Maserati’s best-selling car in the UK, and you can see why. It’s good looking in that slightly odd combination of butch and dainty that certain Italian cars manage so well, it’s performance is decent without being earth-shattering and – certainly compared to any other Italian you could consider remotely ’Exotic’ – it’s more sensibly priced, at the right side of £100k. But if there are criticisms to be levelled against the GrandTurismo S they perhaps revolve around its slightly ‘soft’ nature.