Motoring news that's fit to print

With strong public interest in the Chevrolet Volt, General Motors (GM) has decided to ramp up production of the range extended electric vehicle. The company is expected to increase production capacity by 50 per cent – from 30,000 units to 45,000 units – in 2012. The news broke as part of US President Barack Obama’s [ ... ]

So far only the odd eccentric has taken to using old chip fat as fuel. A messy process of filtering and the need to go begging to chip shops probably stop many people from pursuing this route to alternatively fuelling their cars. But now, researchers at the University of Leeds may have found a way [ ... ]

Visitors to Vauxhall’s ecoFLEX Experience website (www.ecoflex-experience.com) have the opportunity to download a voucher entitling them to a free ecoFLEX Fuel Efficiency Check at the carmaker’s participating MasterFit retailers. Those wishing to take advantage of the offer just need to log on, print the voucher and present it to their nearest participating MasterFit retailer. The [ ... ]

Nissan has confirmed that order books for its electric Leaf model will open to UK customers on September 1, ahead of the first deliveries set for March next year. The Japanese carmaker confirmed the date as the order books for the all-electric car open for customers in Portugal and Ireland. The move means that Portuguese, [ ... ]

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Just how much of an impact will electric vehicles have on the fleet of one of the world’s leading car manufacturers? Ford believes it has the answer. According to the company’s director of global electrification Nancy Gioia, speaking at Plug-in 2010 in San Jose, California, Ford expects hybrids, plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles to [ ... ]

The Clean Energy Jobs 5 and Oil Company Accountability Act of 2010 has given a significant boost to both natural gas and plug-in vehicles. There will be up to $3.8billion in rebates for buyers of natural gas powered vehicles; while $400million will support the deployment of plug-in vehicles in targeted communities. The addition of the [ ... ]

As the large scale introduction of electric vehicles edges ever closer, this week’s Plug-in 2010 conference and exhibition in San Jose, California, saw several infrastructure companies appear prominently and make announcements. Let’s take a look at each of the major players and update you on their progress: - Aerovironment: Already selected by Nissan North America [ ... ]

Registrations of alternatively fuelled cars in the UK doubled in the first six months of 2010 compared with the first half of 2009, the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show. The figures also reveal that CO2 emissions from new cars continue to decline as average CO2 rating of new [ ... ]

On Monday 9 August, the Highways Agency will replace eroded stone and carry out repairs to the masonry wall on the A40 near Whitchurch. The work is expected to take three weeks to complete. The wall is in need of work to keep it structurally safe and prevent it from falling on to the carriageway. [ ... ]

The Highways Agency is advising visitors to The Tall Ships Races in Hartlepool to allow plenty of time for their journey as there will be extra traffic on the roads leading to the Hartlepool area from Saturday 7 August until Tuesday 10 August. The Agency is providing two Traffic Officer patrols on the A19 between [ ... ]

Mature motorists may face rising car insurance fees as the years pass, although firms offer bonuses that are designed to reduce these costs. Certain groups of drivers generally pay more for their premiums as they have been linked with an increased level of risk. Higher policy costs are normally associated with vehicle owners in their [ ... ]

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If you’re planning to have a few drinks at a barbeque this summer don’t cycle home, warns the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists). Although drink-driving is socially unacceptable, many people wouldn’t think twice about cycling home after consuming more than the legal blood-alcohol limit for driving. Neil Greig, IAM Director of Policy and Research said: [ ... ]

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) welcomes the Government’s proposal to phase out the Default Retirement Age (DRA) by October 2011. This follows many years of campaigning to remove the DRA. Dianah Worman, diversity adviser, CIPD, says: ”We are greatly encouraged by the new plans laid out to eradicate the DRA. Our research [ ... ]

A traffic management summary for both new and ongoing work The information provided in this report is correct as of the above date but could be subject to change due to weather conditions or unforeseen circumstances. M4 between Membury Service Area and Junction 14 The major maintenance scheme on the M4 in Berkshire continues this [ ... ]

The Highways Agency will begin resurfacing works on a one mile section of the A449 near Coven (Wolverhampton) on Monday 2 August to improve safety for road users. The work will finish by Thursday 19 August. The work is being carried out on the stretch of the A449 just north of M54 Junction 2, up [ ... ]

Road users are advised that two abnormal loads are due to be travelling through part of Hampshire this week. The two transformers will be travelling on Saturday 31 July and Sunday 1 August, between Bramley Sub Station, Hampshire, and Southampton Docks. The first transformer is expected to leave Bramley Sub Station at 9.30am on Saturday [ ... ]

With a host of successful green cars including the Prius already under its belt, Toyota is now turning its green attentions to its centre network. After a successful pilot programme last year, Toyota is working with the Carbon Trust in an effort to achieve significant reductions in energy use and carbon emissions across more than [ ... ]

The year has started well for French car manufacturer Renault, which has reported a group operating margin of four per cent and net income of €823million. Worldwide sales for the first half of the year grew by 21.7 per cent to take the group’s global passenger car and light commercial vehicle market share to 3.8 [ ... ]

Does it have to cost more to service a van at a van centre? Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is keen to change this perception by introducing national pricing at its van centres. Interim and full services will now be available from £89 and £199 respectively (plus VAT) across the UK. In addition, servicing at the centres [ ... ]

It seems silly season has really kicked off as this week there’s been an influx of weird and wonderful motoring stories. Firstly, The Telegraph has reported that a German nursing home has come up with an unusual idea to stop Alzheimer’s patients from wandering off: a phantom bus stop. The replica bus stop, in front [ ... ]

Following on from the success of the Fiat 500 Pink, another unique limited edition version of the popular city car has been announced – the Fiat 500 BlackJack. Just 200 examples of the matt black supermini will be available when it goes on sale today (July 30). As with previous special edition 500 models, the [ ... ]

The iconic Ford Transit celebrates its 45th birthday next month, with more than six million models produced since its debut in 1965. The original white van has played a pivotal role in British motor manufacturing over its 45 year history, with the model built in the carmaker’s Southampton plant with engines and transmissions for the [ ... ]

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Jaguar Land Rover is trying to encourage its employees to go green by introducing a cycle to work scheme. As part of the manufacturer’s  sustainability strategy, the scheme will provide employees with the opportunity to make savings on the cost of a new cycle and safety equipment which will be achieved by taking advantage of [ ... ]

A road safety group has warned motorists to get plenty of sleep before they take to the car for long journeys this summer to avoid serious accidents. Roadsafe said that driver sleepiness is thought to be responsible for 300 road deaths a year in the UK. The Department for Transport also estimates that it causes [ ... ]

Nissan has confirmed that order books for its electric Leaf model will open to UK customers on September 1, ahead of the first deliveries set for March next year. The Japanese carmaker confirmed the [ ... ]

Ford has been testing its next generation Ford Focus to the max to ensure that its as reliable as possible and up for anything. The new model, set to go on sale at the end of the year, has been triall [ ... ]

The Passat Estate is the unsung hero of the Volkswagen model range. A workhorse with unexceptional looks, its lack of glamour means its tailor-made for families who want something solid with an air of [ ... ]

German manufacturer Volkswagen Group, which builds some of the most popular cars in Europe, has revealed better than expected financial figures for the first six months of 2010. Deliveries rose by ar [ ... ]

Toyota has issued another recall, this time to fix a potential fault with some of its Land Cruiser Amazon models. The recall affects just 348 models sold in the UK and relates to Land Cruiser Amazon m [ ... ]

Ahead of this Sunday’s Vauxhall Motors Bowling Club, the car company has provided a sneak preview of three specially designed vehicles to be showcased at the event in East London. For one day only, Va [ ... ]

How do you make the hot even hotter? Easy, if you’re Volkswagen: you take the much-loved and hugely popular Golf GTI, increase the power, add four-wheel drive and – hey presto – you come up with the G [ ... ]

Skoda has announced that it is to extend its range of cracking car finance offers until the end of the year, this means that’s their “No VAT” deals on the Fabia, Roomster, and Octavia remain in place [ ... ]

Honda is running a competition to win one of its new hybrid sports coupe models, the CR-Z. The newly released CR-Z is a cool new mild hybrid model, priced from £16,995 which first went on sale in Jun [ ... ]

The Volkswagen Golf, now on its sixth generation, has been a class leader in the small family segment ever since it was launched in 1974. It’s one of the cars that all new hatchbacks aspire to be. The [ ... ]