Category Archives: Motoring News

Battery breakthrough for electric cars?

June 16, 2012   simon

A123, the company that supplies batteries for the Fisker Karma, claims to have made a “game changing” breakthrough.It says it has developed a lithium-ion battery pack that may need no external cooling or heating, being happy to operate at any temperature between plus 45 degrees and minus 30 degrees. So what, you might ask? Well, the problems with keeping lithium batteries cool in a car was the main reason why they took around 10 years longer to get into cars than into mobile phones or laptops.
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DVLA personal plates raise £4.7 million

June 15, 2012   simon

More records were set by the Olympic- and Jubilee-themed personal plate sale at London’s City Hall.Jubilee tie-ins PR11 NCE and HA12 RRY fetched a combined total of £21,700, while Olympic plates, REL 44Y and RUN 3R, fetched £730 and £2,548 respectively.With the European Championships just hours away, England supporter Brian Brody, aged 66, of St John’s Wood, London, bought EN61 AND for £19,800. However, that was surpassed by HO11 AND which was bought by businessman John Holland, as a gift for his daughter, Kelly, for little over £25,500.
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Oil giants must pass on price cuts, says government

June 12, 2012   simon

Companies that fail to pass on the benefits of falling oil prices to motorists at the pump are being targeted by the government. Under plans being considered, oil firms that profiteer from decreasing prices would be named and shamed, reported The Sunday Times.

Last month transport secretary Justine Greening warned oil giants and supermarkets against overcharging drivers. ‘If they think that was a soundbite by the secretary of state and we’re going to go away, they can forget about it because it wasn’t,” said transport minister Norman Baker. He added: ‘We’re not going to stand by and see motorists not get a fair deal.’Fuel retailers are accused of passing on price increases quickly but delaying price cuts to increase profit margins.

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DVLA cashes in on Jubilee – More Personal Plates to be auctioned

June 07, 2012   simon

The line between government officials and Del Boy gets ever thinner. The DVLA is auctioning royal-related number plates to cash-incoincide with the Jubilee. The auction at City Hall, London, on Thursday (June 7), includes PR11 NCE and HA12 RRY with reserves of £2,000. The final price is likely to be a bit higher – three years ago 1 HRH was bought for £113,815.
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Almost half of Britain’s speed cameras switched off

June 06, 2012   simon

More than 1,500 fixed speed cameras were not working last year, and hundreds of them will never be switched back on, says a report in The Sun.  Britain has 3,189 Gatso cameras, and last year 1,522 of them were out of action – 48% of the total.
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