It has been six months because this concerned resident formally provided his hand-crafted parchment to the UK government at the greatest (Cabinet) level. Respectfully, I reminded the young boys as well as women (allegedly) in fee of a few pro-car facts they didn’t know, had really forgotten about, or selected to disregard thanks to their new ‘bash the motorist/bludgeon the conventional household motor’ rhetoric.
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By far the most important, potentially life-saving reality I passed on to our elected leaders last may went like this: when travelling in a pandemic-ravaged UK, the best, many accountable method for people to socially distance and, in turn, battle the risk of Covid-19 is to utilize private, simple-to-sanitise household cars, which the large majority of adults already own or lease.
‘Cars as well as their chauffeurs are being disgracefully discriminated against’
But another, similarly important, potentially life-taking reality I reminded the government of was this: when people are required to capture in to, then sit or stand aboard undoubtedly cramped, relatively unclean public transport, the danger of infection is far greater. put one more way, those happy, distanced souls in their locked, sealed, personal cars and trucks capable of travelling door to door are far less likely to ended up being Covid-19 victims than the bad sods at stations as well as on trains, at airports as well as in planes, at terminals as well as in coaches, at bus stops as well as having a hard time with buses.
Ford has broadened the Puma’s line-up, adding a new automatic gearbox as well as a highly-specced ST-Line X Vignale trim level.
The Puma’s 123bhp turbocharged 1.0-litre three-cylinder EcoBoost petrol engine is offered with a seven-speed automatic transmission – with costs starting from £22,945. The gearbox lowers the crossover’s declared WLTP fuel economic climate as well as emissions figures to 45.6mpg as well as 138g/km – compared to the manual-equipped model’s 49.6mpg as well as 127g/km.
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• finest crossovers on sale now
Ford’s new, highly-specced ST-Line X Vignale trim level is priced from £25,240. Upgrades over the ST-Line X design include 18-inch alloy wheels, a satin-finish aluminium grille as well as a body-coloured rear bumper. purchasers likewise get LED headlamps, leather upholstery, heated front seats, keyless entry as well as a heated steering wheel.
Later this year, the Puma line-up will broaden once again with a flagship ST model. It’ll utilize the exact same 197bhp 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol engine as the Fiesta ST as well as function a hold of chassis as well as styling upgrades including larger brakes, stiffer springs, lowered suspension, an aggressive body-kit as well as a option of lairy paint finishes.
What does the updated Ford Puma have to beat? checked out our listing of the very best crossovers on sale in the UK now…
just £12million of the £300m set aside by the government for electric vehicle grants has been utilized since the plan came
into impact in January 2011.
A overall of 2,311 declares have been produced electric vehicles – according to latest department for transfer (DfT) stats – as well as 140 declares for vans.
This works out at £11.5m in grants for vehicles – for which purchasers get a 25 per cent discount rate as much as £5,000 – as well as £1.27m for vans, which draw in a saving of £8,000.
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But even though £287m of money is lying unused, transfer priest Norman Baker stays optimistic about the grant. “A quarter of all vehicles benefiting from the plug in vehicle grant were ordered in the last three months, as well as new designs are being added to the listing of eligible vehicles,” he said.
He likewise declared he’s “relaxed” about the present uptake, adding that it was in line with what was expected for new technology.
A Nissan spokesperson declared the grant plan is generous enough, however had concerns about its future. “People requirement to understand exactly how long it’ll be offered for. We understood it would be a sluggish burner, so taking it away as people get utilized to it will strangle it,” he warned.
When the reward launched, the government stated it would be offered up until 2015. There’s been no word on this being extended.
The preliminary £300m was sufficient to fund 15,000 electric vehicle sales a year – a far cry from the 2,400 really registered since January 2011 (although not all have utilized the grant).
Nissan’s concerns were echoed by the society of motor manufacturers as well as Traders, with a spokesperson arguing the grant should “deliver stability as well as certainty to motorists by committing to incentivise plug-in vehicles
well beyond 2015”.
The DfT
confirmed the discount rate would run up until the end of the present Parliament, however refused to
say whether it would
continue after this.
Nissan is planning a wave of new models from its Nismo performance arm, including a range of extreme RS versions, car express has learned.
First to arrive will be the UK-built Juke Nismo early next year. but that’s only the beginning according to Nissan’s executive vice president, product planning, Andy Palmer.
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“Try to think of the Nismo brand as an affordable alternative to Mercedes’ AMG division,” Palmer exclusively told us. “Normal Nismo versions will get a power hike of around 15 per cent, but the focus will be much more on distinctive styling with the red highlights. We’ll also tune the suspension and steering, so customers can get much more out of the power they have.”
The Juke Nismo follows this formula with its striking bodykit, 18-inch wheels and red wing mirrors. Power has yet to be confirmed, but going by Palmer’s tip-off, we can expect the 187bhp 1.6 DiG-T engine to be tuned to around 215bhp.
Next in line for the Nismo treatment is the electric leaf – which Palmer confirmed would make production. The leaf Nismo Concept, seen at the 2011 Tokyo motor Show, previewed how that car could look, using blue instead of red accents. expect the production version to offer around 125bhp and 320Nm of torque.
Also due in late 2013 are hot Nismo versions of the 370Z – which is already sold in the us – and GT-R.
A range of Nismo RS models will be aimed at those who crave even much more extreme performance. “The RS cars will be much much more track-focused. You’ve seen the Juke R, so maybe that would be a good place to start,” Palmer said.
While Nissan will offer a very limited number of GT-R-powered Juke Rs for a six-figure sum, a mainstream Juke Nismo RS is much more likely to be lighter and get a highly tuned 1.6-litre turbo with 270bhp. This ought to guarantee sports car-rivalling performance.
Palmer also hinted that the GT-R and 370Z would get the RS treatment, but we’d have to wait until the next-generation 370Z appears in 2014 for that.
The 10 finalists for the world cars and truck of the Year 2013 award have been announced.
An worldwide jury of 66 motoring journalists, including car reveal editor-in-chief, Steve Fowler, as well as special contributor, Mike Rutherford, chosen the 10 finalists.
The 2013 world cars and truck of the Year finalists are:
Audi A3 Range Rover Mazda 6 Mazda CX-5 Mercedes A-Class Peugeot 208 Porsche Boxster/Cayman Subaru BRZ/Toyota GT 86 Volkswagen Golf Volvo V40
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In addition to the world cars and truck of the Year list, the jurors have likewise voted on their preferred performance cars and trucks for the 2013 world performance cars and truck Award.
The 2013 world performance cars and truck of the Year finalists are:
Aston Martin Vanquish Audi RS5 BMW M6 Coupe/Convertible BMW M135i Ferrari F12 Berlinetta Mercedes SL63 AMG Mercedes SLS AMG Roadster Porsche Boxster/Cayman Renaultsport Clio 200 EDC Subaru BRZ/Toyota GT 86
Each juror will now test each cars and truck again, ahead of a even more round of voting in February. The results of this vote will be totted up by KPMG as well as the top three cars and trucks in each classification will be revealed at the Geneva motor Show, with the winners revealed at a press seminar at the new York motor show on 28 March.
The world cars and truck of the Year award is now in its ninth year. The last three WCotY winners were the Volkswagen Up! in 2012, the Nissan Leaf in 2011, as well as the Volkswagen Polo in 2010.
In addition to the world cars and truck of the Year as well as performance cars and truck of the Year, there is likewise a five-car shortlist for the 2013 world eco-friendly Car, which has been created by five market experts.
2013 world eco-friendly cars and truck award finalists:
Renault Zoe Smart electric Drive Tesla design S Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid
Finally, a six-car listing of finalists for the 2013 world cars and truck style of the Year award has been announced. It was likewise created by cars and truck style specialists.
2013 world cars and truck style of the Year award finalists:
Aston Martin Vanquish Renault Clio Jaguar F-Type Range Rover Mazda 6 Volkswagen Golf
Aston Martin has issued its monetary statement for the very first half of 2020, with the British supercar brand publishing a £230 million loss for the period, some 67 per cent down on June of last year.
The business primarily characteristics its monetary downturn to the market difficulties triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. Aston Martin’s sales were down 41 per cent as a direct result of the pandemic as well as lockdown, because of the extensive closure of its dealerships as well as factories.
New Aston Martin DBX prototype review
In response, Aston Martin has organized a series of cuts, decreasing its operating costs as well as streamlining manufacturing, which ought to curb the company’s costs by 2021 – saving an estimated £28 million.
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Slow sales implies a surplus of existing cars. So, Aston Martin will work to decrease its dealership stock by 869 units between now as well as 2021. The stock reduction represents the three months-worth of sales the brand lost during the lockdown as well as closure of dealers.
Elsewhere, Aston has seen the begin of a healing in its Chinese business, with sales climbing 11 per cent over June 2019.
Following the visit of Lawrence stroll as the new Aston Martin CEO, the firm increased £688 million as part of a new rights issue. The relocation has offered the business with sufficient funding to push the DBX SUV with into production.
Stroll said: “Obviously, it has been a difficult period with our dealers as well as factories closed because of Covid-19. We have been completely participated in executing the preliminary reset in purchase to accomplish our ambition to develop Aston Martin into one of the fantastic worldwide high-end vehicle brands.
“The new DBX is crucial to our successful future as well as I am pleased that, after much more than a month of closure, production restarted as well as preliminary deliveries have now been made. likewise crucial to our future is the capability to market as well as engage with our customers.
“From next year, we will have the fantastic benefit of a extremely competitive Aston Martin branded formula One team providing us a considerable worldwide advertising platform to even more enhance our brand as well as engage with our clients as well as partners across the world.”
Hungry for much more Aston Martin news? now checked out all the most recent on the DBX SUV…
Carbon fibre used to be the lightweight supermaterial reserved for F1 or supercars. but carbon fibre could be about to take another step even more into the mainstream.
Ford has developed a carbon fibre bonnet for the current focus which weighs less that 50 per cent of the current steel equivalent.
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And while we’ve seen carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) body panels before, the real progress has been made in the production process for the material, which is now fast enough to be used on Ford’s regular production line.
“It’s no secret that decreasing a vehicle’s weight can deliver major benefits for fuel consumption, but a process for fast and affordable production of carbon fibre automotive parts in large numbers has never been available,” said Inga Wehmeyer, advanced materials and processes research engineer, Ford European research Centre.
Although Ford didn’t release how much the bonnet weighs, or what fuel efficiency benefits could be had from switching to CFRP, there are some major benefits of the material over conventional steel. Namely, CFRP is up to five times as strong as steel, twice as stiff, and one-third the weight. Ford plans to use the material to decrease the weight of its automobiles by up to 340kg by the end of the decade.
Ford’s lightweight body panel project began in 2010 and sought to develop carbon fibre composite panels that were cheap, finished to a high standard, weighed less than 50 per cent of their steel equivalent and could be incorporated on a current production line.
The prototype Ford focus bonnet also meets Ford’s standards for crash performance. Ford claims that the bonnet has also carried out well in pedestrian protection head-impact tests, thanks to a special foam core sandwiched between two layers of CFRP.
“Customers of Ford’s passenger automobiles ought to not expect to see carbon fibre-bodied examples on sale in the near future,” said Inga Wehmeyer. “But the techniques we have refined and developed for the prototype focus bonnet could be transferred to higher volume applications at a later date.”
The Volkswagen group has been with the mill over the past two years, however as it reported at its annual press seminar last week, record sales of 10.3 million vehicles in 2016 suggest that it is bouncing back after Dieselgate.
I was in the audience as the VW board congratulated itself on the firm’s spectacular healing – although the truth that the expense for the detraction has now reached practically 20 million euros (and counting) should still sting a little.
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When the guy in fits opened the floor to questions, I asked VW group manager Matthias Müller if he felt the company’s brands ought to be complying with PSA Peugeot Citroen’s lead in publishing real-world fuel economic climate figures for their cars.
• VW emissions detraction latest
VW’s French rival issued much more sensible data on around 1,000 vehicles a couple of weeks back, with figures created utilizing a test called the genuine Driving Emissions standard.
The new RDE test isn’t rather as exact as the lab work that figures out the official fuel economic climate as well as CO2 emissions. however it’s a helpful guide to exactly how much NOx vehicles are emitting on genuine roads, as well as exactly how numerous miles they’re truly doing to the gallon.
• VW thinking about publishing real-world economic climate figures
Surprisingly, Müller replied in the affirmative. Well, almost: “What PSA did, we are currently likewise believing about,” he revealed. That’s encouraging, however we’re not completely sure what bit of the process needs deep consideration.
As VW’s own administration admitted last week, the business has “a great method to go in regaining the count on of clients as well as the public”. providing us fuel economic climate figures that we have a faint possibility of believing would be a great location to start, surely.
Would you like to see VW publish real-world fuel economic climate figures? let us understand below…
police plans to use communities as motoring crime spotters could expand in the future, as safety experts believe the schemes are an answer to the falling number of traffic officers.
The national police Chief’s Council launched a week long programme to crackdown on mobile phone use behind the wheel with the trial including the use of community spotters to report offenders to the police.
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Meanwhile the Essex police revealed a new programme called Neighbourhood view on Wheels, that recruits local driving instructors to act as their “eyes and ears” on the roads.
• First cars: learning to drive special
The Tendring area of Essex is to host a new trial by the Essex police where driving instructors who sign up given maps of the areas with the worst crime rates and even descriptions of suspects.
The police also hope to use the relevant footage from instructors’ dash-cams as evidence in court cases. District commander, Russ Cole, who is behind the driving instructor scheme said: “Driving instructors seemed like an apparent choice – here is a group of professionals who are prepared to help.
“While they are doing their three-point turns and manoeuvres, they’ll be keeping an eye out for suspects. We will be working with as numerous of the instructors as possible, sharing information with them, such as maps of where burglaries are taking place and descriptions of suspects.
The BMW idea active Tourer (CAT) was the centrepiece of BMW’s Paris motor show stand. While it’s a idea in name, the feline previews the very first front-wheel-drive BMW production cars, which will show up in late 2014.
The idea active Tourer is aimed directly at the Mercedes B-Class – it’s a five-seater as well as nearly the exact same size as the Mercedes, at 4,353mm long, 1,834mm large as well as 1,560mm tall.
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Importantly, the feline is created so that, in spite of utilizing the exact same platform as well as engines, it won’t take sales from the all-new MINI, which debuts at the end of 2013.
The new engine design indicates there’s no requirement for a long bonnet, as well as it’s likewise brought about some cautious rethinking of the standard BMW style language for the idea active Tourer.
To provide the cars and truck a stylish stance, the BMW kidney grille is tilted forward, while the headlights are swept back as well as flow out to the flared wheelarches, which cover 20-inch wheels.
The glasshouse has been moved forward, to provide a lot more interior space, however the standard upswept windowline as well as kink are present. Tail-lights similar to those on the 6 series as well as a short overhang total the look.
Inside, the dash is still angled towards the driver, however the area ahead of the front-seat traveler is rounded as much as the windscreen, enabling a lot more light in. The front seats are mounted high for great all-round visibility, while the rears split 40:20:40 for maximum practicality.