Volkswagen Passat Engine Brain Box Electronic Control Module; 4 Cyl 02 on 2040-parts.com

China automaker Brilliance halts Europe exports, executives say

Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd., BMW AG's partner in China, has halted its car exports to Europe after its BS4 and BS6 sedan met with a cool reception, and there is no timetable for a resumption, senior executives said on Thursday. The head of Brilliance's former importer for Europe, Hans-Ulrich Sachs, told Automotive News Europe in March that another reason the automaker struggled is because it refused to lower the starting prices on the BS6 and BS4. "They didn't want to lose any money per car," said Sachs, the former boss of the now dissolved import company HSO Motors Europe.

Fuel duty freeze is 'no give-away'

MOTORING GROUPS have given a cautious welcome to Chancellor George Osborne's announcement of a freeze on fuel duty until May 2015. But Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin's insistence on the value of HS2 to the UK cut little ice with opponents of the high-speed rail scheme. On fuel duty, both the AA and the RAC pointed out that Mr Osborne was already getting big sums from motorists in taxation.

Changing course, Chrysler considers a small Ram pickup

Chrysler may develop a unibody small pickup positioned below the Dakota, whose production will end in 2011. "We're thinking of something that will separate itself from the full-sized truck more than what happens today, both in capability, price and size," said Joe Veltri, Chrysler Group vice president of product planning. "The Ram brand has room to expand into a compact-truck segment." Veltri, interviewed this month at the National Truck Equipment Association's Work Truck Show in St.