Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is planning to introduce a smaller model than the Phantom before 2011.

The new model, which will be Rolls-Royce’s cheapest car, will be priced somewhere between the Phantom, which can sell for around £260,000 and the BMW 7-Series which starts at around £50,000.

The company hopes the smaller car, which should appeal to a broader market, will help to double its overall sales, which currently stand at around 800 cars a year.

The design for the new model is finished and a prototype is under development and should be running soon. Rolls Royce plans to install a second manufacturing line at its factory in Goodwood.

The smaller car is expected to sell well in China, where a Rolls Royce costs around $900,000 on average. Rolls-Royce plans to open two more dealerships in China by the end of 2007.

Rolls-Royce revealed the plans at the Shanghai Motor Show.

Nanjing Automobile Group Corp., the Chinese manufacturer of MG cars, has announced that it plans to begin producing MG-TF Roadsters in Longbridge, the former home of MG Rover, in May.

The company revealed its plans at the Shanghai auto show. Nanjing Auto brought the MG brand in 2005, three months after British car-manufacturer MG Rover went into receivership.

Nanjing Auto plans to capitalise on the fame of the MG brand in Europe and the US and use it as a platform for global expansion. The company plans to invest $2 billion in the brand.

As well as starting production in Longbridge, the company also plans to double the capacity of its plant in Nanjing, eastern China to 500,000 cars a year by 2010.

Talks on opening a plant in Oklahoma, USA, are still on-going.

According to the latest insolvency figures from Experian, business failures amongst motor traders in Britain fell by 27.5% during the first quarter of 2007, compared with the first quarter of 2006.

Sixty-six motor traders became insolvent during January, February and March 2007, compared with 91 during the same period in 2006.

The improvement echoed better figures across all UK business sectors, where business failures dropped by 8.8% during the quarter, representing the biggest fall in four years.

The number of automotive business failures began to slow down towards the end of 2006, with the improvement carrying through into 2007 helped by increased sales of new cars during the first quarter.

The second highest number of registrations since the bi-annual plate change was introduced was recorded in March.

The used car market also benefited from strong demand during the first quarter of 2007.

However, an expected increase in interest rates in May could work to depress sales.

The future of Vauxhall’s factory in Ellesmere Port, Merseyside, has been safeguarded with the news that it has been chosen to build the new Astra model.

General Motors, Vauxhall’s parent company, announced that the model will be manufactured at Ellesmere Port plus three more European plants: Bochum in Germany, Gliwice in Poland and Trollhättan in Sweden. The company is investing a total of €3.1bn across Europe.

Without the new business the Ellesmere Port plant would have faced closure, with the loss of thousands of jobs.

Around 2,200 workers are based at the factory, but their future had seemed uncertain after a shift was cut in 2006 with the loss of 1,200 jobs.

Productivity at the plant has improved by 13% in the past year, significantly enhancing the factory’s competitiveness.

The third shift will be reintroduced in 2010, when production of the new Astra is scheduled to start, but no extra jobs will be created. The plant will produce 180,000 of the new cars a year.

The Ellesmere Port factory has been manufacturing Vauxhalls since 1964.

According to the UK car leasing website, my-CarLeasing.com, cars on leasing deals could increases from 1% of the number of cars on the road, to 25% in the next few years - the same level as in the USA.

my-CarLeasing.com is recording substantial growth in interest in leasing deals, especially for premium cars such as Porsche, Range Rover, Jaguar and Aston Martin.

The my-CarLeasing.com website was set up by Mark Attwood, to help people find the best leasing deal quickly. Individuals considering vehicle leasing simply submit some basic details to the site. These are then sent to three trustworthy car leasing experts and quotes are obtained for the customer.

Mr Attwood also launched a car leasing blog, to provide advise on car leasing deals, which come in a number of forms such as PCP and PCH (”Personal Contract Purchase” and “Personal Contract Hire”), Hire Purchase and Lease Purchase.

Car leasing has a number of advantages over car ownership, most significantly the driver of a lease car does not have to worry about the vehicle depreciating in value as soon as it is driven off the forecourt.

Depreciation becomes the leasing company’s problem when a car is leased. Lease deals also usually include maintenance agreements.

247spares, the UK’s largest used and reconditioned car parts, has officially announced the completion of it’s new website, offering a huge range of car parts for UK motorists.

Formed in 1999, 247spares is the largest parts network in the UK and is still the fastest growing, with over 90,000 salvaged vehicles in its inventory. All parts are guaranteed, and parts are available for almost every model of car from 1985.

The new website comes complete with an endorsement from former Top Gear and now Fifth Gear presenter, Quentin Wilson.

He points out that not only can 247spares deliver big cost savings when ordering new and used car parts for repairs, but also that 247spares plays a vital role in the recycling industry, taking quality parts and spares that would otherwise go to waste.

The relaunched website focuses on improving the user experience, and now uses a series of short help videos and answers to frequently asked questions, presented by Deal TV star Andrianna Christofi.

By simply entering in their car registration number and selecting the desired part or parts, visitors can quickly and easily find what they require.

It’s free to use the site and you have the option of being contacted when your required part has been found, either by phone call, SMS, or email.

247spares has also launched a news section for providing news and information on the latest developments in the motoring industry.

Since the Mazda6 came to UK showrooms five years ago, it has become the UK’s fastest growing marque and is Mazda’s best selling car in the UK.

The brand’s popularity has been helped by low list prices, strong residual values and the fact that it is inexpensive to run.

Mazda has increased its UK sales by almost 250% in the last five years and now sells over 50,000 vehicles a year. Fleet demand for its cars has played a large part in boosting sales. The upper medium model has been particularly popular as a fleet car.

The Mazda6 still beats rivals such as the Citroën C5, Peugeot 407 and Renault Laguna in terms of residual value, which remains above 30% at three years/60,000 miles for most models.

The Mazda6 has a range of standard features including manual air conditioning, 16 inch alloy wheels, height/reach adjustable steering wheel, electric windows front and rear, a radio/CD unit with four speakers, remote central locking, six airbags and ABS anti-lock braking.

DaimlerChrysler AG is negotiating the sale of its Chrysler division to Magna International Inc. Daimler is expected to sell its Chrysler business for around 8 billion USD.

Magna is believed to have submitted a first-round bid, which is currently being evaluated by DaimlerChrysler.

Chrysler is one of Magna’s major customers, generating around 15% of Magna’s annual sales of over 20 billion USD.

It is likely that Magna will propose an investment in Chrysler in return for an increase in the amount of vehicle assembly it does for the company.

Blackstone and Cerberus are also believed to be preparing bids, and Mitsubishi Motors and Hyundai could also be interested in acquiring the company.

The Chrysler sale will undo the 1998 merger of Daimler-Benz AG and Chrysler Corp.

Industry sources believe that DaimerChrysler AG’s CEO, Dieter Zetsche, will choose a buyer for the Chrysler unit by the end of April.

Nissan is demonstrating the new Infiniti G37 Coupe at the New York International Auto Show.

Luxury brand Infiniti, which will launch in the UK next autumn, promises to combine Lexus levels of service with BMW driving experience.

Key enhancements to the new second-generation G Coupe include a larger, more powerful 3.7-litre engine, available advanced 4-Wheel Active Steer system, a new exterior design and a re-designed interior with intuitive, integrated technology.

Other members of the Infiniti family include the recently released G35 saloon, and the FX, which will be launched later this year.

While the G37, G35 and FX are currently powered by V6 or V8 petrol engines, Infiniti is partnering with Renault to develop a V6 diesel which should be ready by 2010.

There are also plans for a petrol-electric hybrid and a BMW 5 Series-sized saloon should be available within three years.

Nissan is investing €500 million to produce the brand in Europe, with the company’s technical centre at Cranfield, Bedfordshire, heavily involved in the suspension work.

The UK is expected to be Infiniti’s top European market and eighty dealerships will initially be established across Europe.

The latest Subaru Impreza, which will be launched at the New York motor show on Friday, will be available in the UK only as a five-door hatchback.

The Impreza has previously appeared in the UK as either a saloon or an estate, but is now following the European trend for more practical hatchbacks.

The new style Impreza has been developed around the product concept of refined designs for comfort and features rich interior design, roominess and space. While it offers increased sophistication and elegance, its fans may miss the distinctive styling of previous models.

From 2009, the Impreza car will feature the horizontally opposed 2.0-litre diesel engine which was demonstrated at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2007. Until then the range will continue with the same petrol engines as the current car.

The new model has a lower centre of gravity afforded by a flat four engine mounted lower in the nose. Additional use of high tensile steel throughout makes the new body a stiffer overall structure than the previous model.

Subaru does not plan to make its new WRX model available in the UK.