Nissan is to compete against the iconic London taxi. The Nissan NV200 London Taxi is about as interesting to look at as cardboard box, but Nissan says it offers a more comfortable experience for passengers, a cheaper proposition for drivers and a lower environmental impact.
Fiat family will grow soon with the addition of a fourth model called 500X, that will go against the MINI Countryman. The 500X, just as the 500L is based on the widened version of Punto hatchback’s platform and will be offered in both front-wheel and all-wheel drive configurations.
Current 500 range has a strong female following and with the 500X, Fiat hopes to appeal also more to male buyers. Even though the 500X looks tougher and more masculine, it is easily recognisable as a 500, with similar styling, like headlamps and tail-lights.
We nearly said the App would tell you where there is a free space, but “free” is not the word to use in conjunction with Westminster, where parking currently costs up to £4.40 per hour.
The idea is that sensors in the road will alert drivers to unoccupied parking bays. That means less aimless driving around and potentially less congestion, as up to 30% of urban traffic is made up of people trying to park, which seems ironic – some traffic jams are apparently caused by people who are trying to stop driving.
The DVLA is to auction the ideal plate for the Mercedes owner that has everything.
It will go under the hammer at Mercedes Benz World on September 6th, just to ram home the message, but the owner will have to wait a year before using it on the public road, as the 63 plate will not become valid until September 2013.
Drivers have been urged to switch off their engines when idling for one minute. According to the Energy Savings Trust, London drivers alone are wasting £60 million per year by not doing so.
People tend to forget that leaving the engine running unnecessarily is actually an offence. The Highway Code says: “You MUST NOT leave a parked vehicle unattended with the engine running or leave a vehicle engine running unnecessarily while that vehicle is stationary on a public road.” Some London boroughs are now imposing £80 fines if drivers spend a long time unloading their vehicles with the engine running.
