Vw Routan Woofer on 2040-parts.com

Kubrick's Jaguar memories: XJ12s and more

Once upon a time there was a small boy, about seven years old, who had taken an interest in cars at a rather early stage, mainly thanks to his old man, who was (and, thankfully, still is) a car enthusiast and, back in those days, a staunch supporter of a certain Southern German marque. This naturally meant that the small boy would sometimes be a bit annoyed by his father's occasionally overbearing passion, but at the same time usually knit his eyebrows himself whenever he came across something sporting four wheels but no blue & white propeller (which, he believed, was the way things were supposed to be). So the foundations had been laid to turn this very young chap into a proper petrolhead one day, but his interest remained relatively casual and moderate until that one fateful evening.

New Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV plug-in hybrid goes on sale. Price from £28,249

The new Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (pictured) goes on sale in the UK The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV arrived at the Paris Motor Show in 2012, and although it’s already available in Europe it’s only now going on sale in the UK. And it does offer a compelling package. Mitsubishi say the Outlander PHEV is the most practical vehicle qualifying for the UK’s £5,000 grant for low emission cars, and instead of charging really silly prices for their new plug-in hybrid Mitsubishi have pitched it so buyers pay no more at entry-level (after the grant) than they would for its diesel equivalent.

Chrome, Horsepower and Hemis: Cadillac Escalade tops most ripped-off list

Just when it seems as if all we are hearing about are Chevrolet Volts and Nissan Leafs (Leaves?), turns out thieves still love their performance cars and monstrous SUVs and trucks. The Cadillac Escalade remains the most stolen car in the United States, according to the Highway Loss Data Institute. The 'Sclade was followed by the Ford F250 pickup, the Infiniti G37, the Hemi Dodge Charger (not the V6 though!) and the Chevrolet Corvette Z06.