News

Carrying on the Inside Line series, we move on from looking at the BMW 1 Series and turn our attention to the Ford Ka. Now in its second generation, this car remains a firm favourite with those wanting an entry-level car to run around in a town or city, or as a first vehicle. In this issue we are focusing on the first generation Ka which entered the market back in 1996 as a budget city car. A testament to its success is its longevity, with huge numbers sold for over a decade until it was replaced in 2009 with an updated model

Lucas Oil has reinvigorated its Deep Clean Fuel System Cleaner for petrol engines by making it even easier to use. The new design by adopted by the American firm has been developed with capless fuelling systems in mind, where it makes dispensing fuel additives from traditional bottles difficult without the use of an aperture-widening tool.

Workshops need to invest in more than one piece of diagnostic equipment to survive says Launch UK. Managing Director Dave Richards acknowledges that the independent aftermarket has come a long way in embracing diagnostic equipment, but it still needs further support in ensuring they have a full solution

Mini is aiming to take a piece of the service, maintenance and repair market away from the independent aftermarket in the same vein as Mercedes. It has launched its own free recovery service for motorists involved in an accident, which is available to all Mini owners irrespective of age of the vehicle.

The Institute of the Motoring Industry (IMI) has been nominated for the award of WorldSkills UK Partner of the Year. It is in recognition for the delivery of its SkillAuto competition last year and joins the British Florist Association and the National Skills Academy for Social Care on the shortlist, with the winner being announced at a ceremony on February 12.

The Parts Alliance has become a founder member of a new international distribution group called Nexus Automotive International. Branded as N!, the group covers Europe, the Middle East and Africa and will have its first suppliers conference in Geneva on March 5

TMD Friction has won the accolade of Supplier of the Year 2013 from Autoparts UK. The large independent motor factor, which is part of the Arnold Clark Group, announced the winner of the trophy at its Burns Night celebrations, where Richard Gleghorn, Sales Manager at TMD Friction UK, picked up the commemorative award and a bottle of malt whisky.

First Line has expanded the range by stocking a range protection for catalytic converters. An exclusive deal has been struck with CatLoc, the catalytic converter protection expert that allows The All Makes Specialist to stock 20 references to distribute to motor factors.

Rob Hooper and Spencer Parkin explain to CAT how innovative use of IT can make you stand out from the crowd. Shepshed Auto Spares, also known as SAS, operate in a similar way to its elite combat troop abbreviation namesake where precision and efficiency is key. The three directors who started SAS, all worked together at the Birmingham-based wholesaler Motor City, and in 1999 decided to try their hand at Motor Factoring.

Remy has added 44 new rotating electric products to its range, which has seen it launch 250 new references in the last six months. The new additions will see 14 starter motors and 28 alternators increase Remy’s range to more than 4000 parts covering over 35,000 vehicle applications.