Yamaha Banshee Yfz350 Spark Plug Ignition Coil on 2040-parts.com

Driven: BMW X3

The BMW X3 had the premium CUV market to itself when launched in 2004. Skip forward to the launch of the second generation and not only does the new version have a whole host of competitors for company, it also has to fit around its X1, X5 and X6 siblings. We took the 2011 BMW X3 (known internally as F25) to the Austrian Tyrol and spoke to its exterior designer, Erik Goplen, to find out if it still has the segment covered.

Parade of Woodward Dream Cruise classics gets underway

Friday marked the final prelude of the 17th annual Woodward Dream Cruise but pre-event festivities have been underway for days throughout suburban Detroit. A lights-and-sirens cruise graced the streets of Ferndale, Mich., during late afternoon, while an emergency-vehicle show ran through the evening; live DJs set up to play through the day and night in Pontiac, Mich.; a classic-car parade lit up the streets in the nearby suburb of Berkley; and classic-car displays have now claimed much of the pavement in Royal Oak. Among local car enthusiasts participating in the week-long buildup to the Woodward Dream Cruise, Kathy Lang and her husband have been set up with their 1964 Dodge Polara in the Royal Oak vicinity since Monday.

UK Car Sales up again in October 2012

New car registrations rose in October by 12.1 per cent in the UK, the ninth month of 2012 to see rising car sales. The European car market may be in a real mess with carnage looming for production facilities run by mainstream car makers, but the UK continues to grow its new car market with sales in October up by 12.1 per cent. Total new car registrations (which includes pre-reg) rose to 151,252 units, the ninth monthly increase of 2012, and the SMMT are now predicting total sales for 2012 of over 2 million, back to 2010 levels after a fall in 2011 to below the 2 million mark.