Category Archives: Motoring News

Most people oppose increase in fixed penalty costs

The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) has come out against the current proposal to increase the fixed penalty fines from £60 to £90.

As a safety organisation, this is perhaps surprising, but the IAM does not like the fact that the fines appear to be a general revenue raising exercise for the government, with the government promising to increase spending on victim support.

Drivers show appalling lack of Highway Code knowledge


Most of us claim that we know the Highway Code like the back of our trousers, yet the reality is different. Harrowingly so. That’s according to the results of the Goodyear Test the Nation survey, which has found that while half of us reckon our knowledge of the Code is good or very good, a worrying number get the basics wrong.

Veyron-beating Ford Mustang unveiled


Ok, so it’s not quite an off-the-shelf Ford, but tuner Shelby American has unveiled a Mustang with 1,100bhp. Yep, that’s a Ford with more power than a standard Bugatti Veyron. (But not a later one.) The engine is a 5.4-litre V8, supercharged to either 950bhp or 1,100bhp. Sadly, only the former is road legal, but it’s still the most muscular Shelby (and probably Ford) there ever was.

SEAT Mii (very slightly) cheaper than identical VW Up


SEAT has revealed the prices of its budget sporty alternative to the VW Up, the Mii. It turns out that a VW badge is worth £150, because that’s how much cheaper a basic Mii is than a basic Up. It’s possible to get into Mii for only £7,845; it’s possible to get one Up for £7,995.Available to order now for a delivery in June, the Mii is mechanically identical to the VW Up and the Skoda Citigo that completes the trio.The only visible differences are the grilles of each – so when SEAT says that its car has “the joint longest wheelbase in its class,” it means joint with…you know.The bottom outlay will bag a Mii S with the 59bhp version of the three-cylinder 1.0-litre petrol engine that powers every car. In the S it spits out 105g/km, but in the more expensive Ecomotive trim it has start-stop, lowering that figure to 96g/km CO2, meaning 67.3mpg. There’s a 74bhp version of the engine too, available in SE and Sport specs.

Mobility scooters becoming ‘credit crunch runabouts’


Times are so tough that some drivers are ditching their cars and using mobility scooters instead. According to The Sun, motorists are turning to the electric scooters because they don’t need fuel, tax or insurance.