Category Archives: Motoring News

UK to get Smart car sharing scheme, Car2go

March 20, 2012   Colin

Daimler (the official name of Mercedes Benz’s parent) will introduce its Car2go Smart in Birmingham, after a highly successful start in America and Europe.The scheme will allow Brummies to rent one of 250 petrol-powered Smart Fortwos within a 30 square mile operating zone in the city.
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Roads privatisation plan?

March 20, 2012   Colin

The government will today announce a plan to privatise at least the management of certain roads.The idea is to transfer control of maintenance and expansion of major roads and motorways to private sector companies.
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World’s smallest car, Peel resurrected

March 19, 2012   Colin

The world’s smallest ever production car, the Peel P50, has been brought back to life as a zero emissions electric runabout. It gives eco savvy urbanites the opportunity to abandon the G-Wiz and explore new heights of automotive silliness.Measuring at 137cm long and 104cm wide, the three-wheeled Peel P50 makes the Tata Nano look like Simon Cowell’s party limo; the Nano, which is officially today’s smallest mass production car, measures in at 310cm by 223cm.After a successful pitch on Dragon’s Den, leading to an £80,000 investment from James Caan, the new Peel company began taking orders on its pair of tiny eco cars – the P50 is joined by its ‘sporty’, very slightly bigger brother, the Trident.The three-wheeled pair both use a tiny electric engine, good for a heady 8mph top speed and a 15-mile driving range from a full charge.
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Good News JLR record market share 2.9%, Vauxhall slumps 24% in Feb

March 17, 2012   Colin

The UK car market saw some dramatic changes in fortune in February.The main winner was Jaguar Land Rover (JLR). Thanks to the launch of the Evoque, Land Rover sales rose by 36% year-to-date, with Jaguar sales going up by a rather more modest 3%.
We tend to think of JLR as a niche manufacturer, but it is starting to become a major player. So far this year, it is outselling such mainstream brands as Fiat, Honda and Renault and has a record market share of 2.9%. In more good news for British factories, Nissan is up 18% and is now easily the leading Japanese brand, which is excellent for the Sunderland plant.
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Potholes: The new growth industry?

March 16, 2012   Colin

The government says we need to find growth industries to help us out of the financial crisis, but the growing number of potholes may not be it.

According to a survey of local authorities by the catchily-named Asphalt Industry Alliance, it would take 11 years to clear the backlog of potholes, given the current rate of pothole repair.

In Wales, it is even worse, at a scary 17 years – and there is no point in Welsh drivers hoping the whole road will be resurfaced to solve the problem. On average each Welsh road will be resurfaced once every 72 years, with the corresponding figure in England being “only” 58 years.

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