The Good Oil: Third wheel not lonely in Morgan remake

Morgan's shiny new Threewheeler was revealed at Geneva, and will be shown at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Photo / Supplied

Niche British carmaker Morgan went back to its roots when it decided to reinvent its first car, the Threewheeler, while forging ahead with contemporary takes on its classic designs.

The new Threewheeler was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March and will go public at the upcoming Goodwood Festival of Speed.

The car packs an 85kW V-Twin engine between the two front wheels with a third wheel at the rear.

Morgan has banked almost 500 deposits as it heads towards planned annual production of 1000 units.

It is also aiming to introduce a new model every year, including the four-seat EvaGT set down for 2013.

Brazilian Kia 'too sexy'

Kia Motors America went into damage-control mode this week, disowning saucy ads created for the carmaker in Brazil to promote the dual-zone climate control in the Sportage SUV.

The ads are comic strip-style spots with family-friendly images on one side and racy, adult scenarios on the other. Outrage has focused on one ad showing a male teacher helping an elementary schoolgirl - a scenario critics see as having sexual overtones.

The ads won the silver medal at the Cannes Lions advertising contest in France, but outraged critics took to Kia's Twitter and Facebook profiles to air their disgust. Now Kia's US arm has denounced the ads, distancing itself from Kia's independent distributor in Brazil.

"We can guarantee this advertisement has never and will never be used in any form in the United States ... like the American consumers, we find it totally offensive and inappropriate," said KMA marketing boss Michael Sprague.

Jag's new sports star

Jaguar's much-rumoured small two-seater roadster has been spied testing near the carmaker's plant in Coventry. The new model, codenamed XE, will be under the current XK in the line-up and is thought of as a spiritual successor to the legendary E-Type.

It will carry a price tag aimed somewhere between the Porsche Boxster and 911 and have a compact body, two seats and a folding canvas roof. It will be one of Jaguar's biggest sellers in Europe, the US and the Far East. Underneath the skin is a modified rear-wheel drive aluminium chassis from the XK, with a much shorter wheelbase.

It's expected that the XE will use a range of new V6 engines, hooked to the company's six-speed automatic gearbox. As well as high performance supercharged R versions, diesels are also expected to feature.

Kombi outsells Rolls-Royce?!

The original Volkswagen Samba Microbus was the top-of-the-line first-generation "Kombi" and has a strong resale value - but California auction house Barrett-Jackson still can't figure out why a 1963 example fetched a record US$217,800 ($263,244) in Los Angeles the other day.

It was offered in "much-better-than-new condition" but was an odd lot among thoroughbreds: a 1964 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III James Young sedan went for US$159,500; a 2005 Ford GT for US$165,000; and a 1970 Dodge Hemi Challenger for US$215,600.

Cygent gets high-fashion makeover

Aston Martin has joined forces with boutique French fashion brand Collette to create an exclusive limited-edition of its tiny city car.

Only 14 of the Cygnet & Collette special edition will be made. They will be hand-finished by the British brand's "works tailored" personalisation service, and have a variety of extras to set them apart from the standard car.

The first of a series of Cygnet special editions, the Collette version's exterior styling gets a race-inspired blue-rimmed grille and door mirrors, and custom blue alloy wheels and stripes reminiscent of Renaultsport's Gordini range.

Inside, the seats and doors are wrapped in quilted Bitter Chocolate leather with blue stitching, a set of occasional scatter cushions for the rear seats, unique badging and a bespoke solid aluminium key.

Other goodies to keep the Collette's fashionable buyers entertained in traffic include their own sweets, a Paris city guide and a custom Sigg water bottle.

Talk about Jeep is cheap

Talk that Jeep is about to launch a pick-up truck is just that, says the off-road specialist. But it has built a working model of a lightweight pick-up.

Jeep CEO Mike Manley has said that resources at Chrysler are all tied up in other projects - mostly transmission and small car development - and there's not enough cash on hand to go ahead and create a whole new member of the Jeep family.

But Manley also said that when the Jeep pick-up does appear, it will also likely launch in international markets as well. He said he could easily see a metric-ton version selling well in Europe, South-East Asia and the Pacific.

UK insurers - naughty, naughty?

British insurers are under investigation for selling motorists' details to ambulance-chasing law firms without permission. The no-win-no-fee firms bombard motorists with emails or phone calls, persuading them to make injury claims.

The practice, described by former Justice Secretary Jack Straw as the industry's dirty secret, can earn cover providers up to $2000 a referral. It was also claimed the racket involves police and recovery firms, who receive commission fees for calling local breakdown firms or garages. This information is then passed on.

Straw says the cost of personal injury claims has doubled to £14 billion ($27.2 billion) in 10 years as a result and is calling for a ban on referral fees.