News for July 2010
£5,000 electric car grant gets long-awaited green light
Friday, 30 July 2010 by Joseph Jeffries
A £5,000 electric car grant has finally been given the green light by the coalition government.
The previous Labour government had pledged to pay £5,000 to car buyers investing in a new electric vehicle. However, fears that the grant would never see the light of day surfaced when the new coalition government ...
Luxury cars damaged in corrosive liquid attack
Thursday, 29 July 2010 by Joseph Jeffries
A man has caused around £120,000 damage after pouring a corrosive liquid over four luxury cars.
The incident happened at around 1pm yesterday in the car park of a business unit in Kidderminster. According to The Shuttle, a man was seen tipping the substance onto a BMW, an Aston Martin, a Lamborghini and a Porsche, before running ...
Mini making a return to World Rally Championship
Wednesday, 28 July 2010 by Sarah Howard
Mini are set to return to the FIA World Rally Championship next year with the Mini Countryman WRC, it has been announced.
Successful in the 1950's and 1960's, Mini fans will be pleased to hear that the iconic retro brand will be making a comeback for the 2011 season. The new off roading Mini will be based on the consumers version, hiding a 1.6-litre turbo charged BMW engine under the ...
Audi A7 unveiled
Tuesday, 27 July 2010 by Sarah Howard
Ahead of its official public launch, Audi has given car buyers a sneak preview of the all new A7 model which it hopes will challenge the likes of the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes CLS.
Staying true to the concept released last year at the Detroit Motor Show, the A7 is a larger offering positioned at the executive market. To ...
McLaren boost UK manufacturing industry
Monday, 26 July 2010 by Sarah Howard
McLaren Automotive has announced that it has raised £260m of new business finance to help fund a sports car manufacturing business.
The group, perhaps most well-known for its Formula One racing team, has secured finance from banking giants Credit Suisse and HSBC, whilst attracting a number of lucrative private investors.
The newest British car company is offering a 48 ...
Ford chalk up profits of $2.6bn
Monday, 26 July 2010 by Joseph Jeffries
American car manufacturer Ford has announced that it made a profit of $2.6bn in the last quarter.
News of Ford's second-quarter profits came on the back of solid recent sales figures and could be a sign that the company's well-documented financial troubles are firmly in the past.
Indeed, the announcement came only three years after Ford ...
VW Golf - WhatCar? announce as best small family car
Friday, 23 July 2010 by Sarah Howard
Always one to help car buyers make a well-informed choice, WhatCar? has released the results of their 'Best and Worst - Small Family Car' feature.
Revealing the winner to be the ever popular Volkswagen Golf, the magazine cites the 1.4 litre turbo petrol model in Match trim as the best of the offerings.
Other ...
Demand for luxury cars fuels rise in UK production
Friday, 23 July 2010 by Joseph Jeffries
UK car production rose by 28.6 per cent in June, thanks to strong overseas demand for British luxury vehicles.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) confirmed that almost 118,000 cars were produced last month - the eighth month in a row that production has increased.
According to Motor Trader, commercial vehicle output saw a 24.9 ...
Skoda tops customer poll as best car manufacturer
Thursday, 22 July 2010 by Laura Nineham
It's official: Skoda make the best cars, according to a customer poll by Which?.
As reported by The Telegraph, the survey which was published today has found that customers rate Skoda best, not only in value for money but service and after care too.
Over 64,000 car buyers were questioned, and have ...
Lotus confirms new Esprit
Thursday, 22 July 2010 by Sarah Howard
The iconic Lotus Esprit is to be produced once more, with the British sportscar manufacturer announcing a possible Paris debut for a concept model.
Discontinued in 2004, Lotus has confirmed its desire to replace the Esprit, releasing a teaser statement counting down the days until an official announcement is made. The teaser includes a press release outlining important events in ...
Full-scale model provides first glimpse of 1000 mph car
Thursday, 22 July 2010 by Joseph Jeffries
A full-scale model of the world's first 1,000mph land vehicle has been unveiled at the Farnborough Air Show.
Bloodhound SuperSonic Car (SSC) is 42 feet long, and the newly-launched 1:1 replica is the culmination of a three-year effort by aerodynamics experts.
The British team behind the Bloodhound project are hoping to be the ...
London is the least car-friendly place in Britain
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 by Laura Nineham
A poll looking at petrol prices, parking costs and the number of speed cameras has found, unsurprisingly, that London is the worst town for drivers.
As reported by The RAC, the poll by Virgin Money revealed that a combination of traffic jams, a lack of car parks, soaring car crime and an estimated 600 cameras makes London the worst of 65 British towns for drivers. It's the ...
Insurance premiums at highest rate since records began
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 by Laura Nineham
The soaring price of car insurance could price young and low-income drivers out of the market, claim experts.
As reported by The Independent, the cost of insuring a car soared by a third in the past nine months, with insurance companies blaming the rise on the growing number of fraudulent claims and the cost of settling personal injury claims.
The ever increasing ...
BMW X6 gets some G-Power
Tuesday, 20 July 2010 by Sarah Howard
German tuners G-Power have been at it again, supercharging yet another BMW offering.
Rather than opting for a sporty coupe or mid engine sportscar, this time the tuning manufacturer's have turned their attention to the X6 SUV, turning it into the world's fastest 'sport utility vehicle'.
To complement it's powerful engine - that's 5.5 litres of anger, combined with ...
VW and Porsche plan collaboration
Monday, 19 July 2010 by Sarah Howard
It is rumoured that German supremo's Porsche and Volkswagen are set to work together to develop a series of new models.
A source cited in WhatCar? confirmed the deal, with the first project anticipated to be a compact Porsche Boxster and Audi R4. Speculation is also rife that the two companies will collaborate on a series of hybrid vehicles, pooling their design ...
Porsche set to announce production of 918 Spyder
Thursday, 15 July 2010 by Joseph Jeffries
Luxury sports car manufacturer Porsche seem poised to announce that the Porsche 918 Spyder is to go into production.
Porsche unveiled their 918 Spyder at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year, with the hybrid electric concept seen as a potential successor to the Carrera GT.
The 918 was not originally planned for production, but as The ...
Mercedes to launch Golf challenger
Thursday, 15 July 2010 by Sarah Howard
Mercedes are set to launch a revamped A-Class to rival the likes of the VW Golf and Audi A3. The all-new model will be aimed at young, hip car buyers who want a quality but fun vehicle.
With spy shots already released in the media, it's clear that the A-Class will be a stylish offering, with a completely different aesthetic to ...
Comprehensive cover is nearly £150 more expensive than last year
Monday, 12 July 2010 by Laura Nineham
The cost of car insurance has grown by 14.2% as insurers rise the price of premiums in a bid to return to profit, reports The Press Association.
The average price of a comprehensive motoring policy increased by over 14% in the second quarter of 2010, hitting £599. That equates to a £74 increase claims comparison website confused.com.
"This is a massive ...
Only 1% of car radios can receive digital signals
Monday, 12 July 2010 by Laura Nineham
The digital switchover could make 20 million car radios redundant, claims What Car?
The plans to switch from analogue to digital radio in 2015 are still going ahead, but the government has conceded that the date "might slip" if consumer uptake doesn't increase, according to What Car?
As quotedby The Daily Mail, communications minister Ed Vaizey ...
Car to be fitted with engine ringtones
Monday, 12 July 2010 by Hannah McLaverty-Williamson
Electric car buyers could soon be able to choose downloadable car tones for their engine to play, claims leading motor engineers.
Electric cars make a fraction of the noise a petrol fuelled car does, which will cause problems for pedestrians especially if they are blind, when trying to judge how fast an approaching car ...
Ford slashes prices
Thursday, 8 July 2010 by Sarah Howard
Ford is set to reduce its prices by an average of 11 per cent from the beginning of August, with other car-makers likely to follow.
Prompting buyers to sell a car for cash to put towards the Ford range, the car manufacturer has reduced prices across many of its most popular models.
According to Parkers, price ...
Infrared cameras could make driving safer
Thursday, 8 July 2010 by Laura Nineham
New cars could be fitted with infrared night vision cameras to make driving safer, after German scientists have developed a camera that works at room temperature.
According to Gizmag, night vision cameras enable drivers to see more clearly when driving at night on dark, unlit roads. They have already started to appear in luxury cars, but they require the cars to be fitted ...
VW to launch a compact roadster
Tuesday, 6 July 2010 by Sarah Howard
According to the well informed spies at Auto Express, popular German car-makers Volkswagen are set to launch a baby roadster.
Impressing crowds at the 2009 Detroit Motor Show, the BlueSport concept car is to become reality and could go into production later this year. With a diesel engine, this 2-seater sports car will surely woo VW fans to
Sports radio as dangerous as drunk driving?
Tuesday, 6 July 2010 by William Hobson
Car buyers hoping to keep their vehicles in good repair and their licenses in good standing probably already know that they shouldn't mix alcohol and driving - yet new research indicates that listening to sports radio could be just as dangerous.
The Daily Mail reports that a new study from the Transport Research ...
Intelligent cars to be fitted with black box
Monday, 5 July 2010 by Hannah McLaverty-Williamson
Intelligent cars which are fitted with an aeroplane style black box are being developed by computer scientists at Intel.
The boxes would have the ability to send video footage and information about driving behaviour leading up to an accident, to insurance companies and the police. The technology would make it easier to determine the cause of car crashes and would be used to ...
RAC proposes new road payment scheme that could save motorists money
Monday, 5 July 2010 by Laura Nineham
The RAC Foundation has suggested that Britain's roads become privatised in a bid to cut the scaling cost of driving for motorists.
According to The Guardian, The RAC claims that the introduction of a pay-as-you-drive scheme in place of fuel duty and road tax would reduce the £47 billion tax bill for drivers. The think tank's recommendations come just after an Ipsos ...
Chevrolet Camero brings muscle to UK
Friday, 2 July 2010 by Sarah Howard
Bringing a flavour of America to a market flooded with German and Japanese sensibility, Chevrolet have announced they are to sell their Camaro in the UK from 2011.
Unveiling their decision at the Goodwood Festival of Speed's Moving Motorshow yesterday, Chevrolet told eager fans that their V8 coupe will go on sale in May next year, with a cabriolet version expected to follow ...
Car for blind drivers to be built next year
Friday, 2 July 2010 by Hannah McLaverty-Williamson
A car that is able to be driven by completely blind motorists, could be built next year.
A prototype equipped with technology known as non visual interfaces, is currently being produced in a project by the National Federation of the Blind and Virginia Tech.
The cars will be equipped with technology that guides drivers through traffic by transmitting ...
No more handouts for motor industry, Business Secretary warns
Thursday, 1 July 2010 by Joseph Jeffries
Business Secretary Vince Cable has warned Britain's faltering motor industry not to expect any more handouts from the government.
"I don't see the future in terms of large-scale government support for individual (car) companies," he told Sky News at an international automotive summit in London. "We have just emerged out of a period of very heavy government investment (in ...
Peugeot launches new car payment scheme
Thursday, 1 July 2010 by Laura Nineham
Peugeot has launched a new payment scheme that includes the buying and owning costs of a new car, according to What Car?
The plan is called 'Just Add Fuel' combines costs into one monthly fee, to be paid over a three-year-period, which includes comprehensive insurance, routine servicing, road tax and roadside assistance on top of the purchase costs. However, it does not ...
Archives
Jonathan Piercey, London, Mercedes SLK
Anthony Saint Claire, Llandynan, Ferrari 360