Everywhere you go these days – particularly in the United States – the talk is of biofuels. People seem to have latched onto the idea that we can grow our own fuel as being the panacea for all our fossil fuel ills.

But, have the supporters of biofuels stopped to think things through? Read More...

On April 1, BMW announced the first details of the new Canine Repellent Alloy Protection system. Designed to stop dogs fouling against the sparkling alloys of new BMW cars, the innovative Canine Repellent Alloy Protection system (C.R.A.P.) is the latest offering in the BMW EfficientDynamics programme. Read More...

One of the most open secrets in the motor industry was confirmed at today when the Ford Motor Company made the official announcement of the sale of Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata Motors of India. Read More...

Britain used to be known for the quality of its road surfaces. No, don't laugh, it really did. Manufacturers from this country went to France to give their suspension a serious test, now the continental manufacturers are coming here for testing because our road surfaces are notorious. Read More...

I find it very easy to pay the London Congestion charge. So easy in fact that I almost didn't notice. Read More...

Such has been the pace of Audi’s new model programme in recent months that the German manufacturer has seen its UK sales continue to grow. A series of strong new models have undoubtedly helped them to achieve this remarkable growth – Q7, TT, the R8 and the A5.. This time it is the turn of the new Audi TT for the road test spotlight. Read More...

When the Mazda MX-5 was launched it neatly stole a sector of the market that was, until the 1970s, as British as the Union Jack. Britain was the past-master at producing open sports cars and selling them around the world - Austin Healey, MG, Triumph and arguably the car that the MX-5 most wanted to be, the Lotus Elan. Read More...

If your name is Mark Page and you scooped a jackpot of £4.7 million you wouldn't go out and buy Ferraris, Porsches or even a Rolls Royce. What he wanted was two Audis. Read More...

Ford has given the Focus a makeover that gives it the acclaimed family look of the new Mondeo. Read More...

I do not like being lied to. But almost every day, governments, transport authorities and environmentalists come out with statements that are quite simply untrue. Read More...

"I have a Nissan Cash Cow to deliver to you." At least that's what I thought the guy on the phone said. The thought of a car that I could milk for money, sounded pretty attractive, but, unfortunately I think he had just fallen foul of the recent Oriental liking for strange names. Read More...

The Mercedes-Benz R Class is what could probably be described as a crossover vehicle. That is, it crosses over accepted market segments. It's an estate car. It's a six-seater so it is part MPV. And it is a four-wheel-drive, so it is part SUV. The trouble is, this crossing of boundaries makes it difficult to pin-point who will want to buy one. Read More...

The wraps are finally off the new Jaguar XF, the saloon that defines the new future style for Jaguar. The XF will replace the S-Type whose retro styling, harking back to the Jaguar MkII and original S-Type failed to attract younger buyers. Read More...

Imagine this, slightly taller and maybe toned down a tad, and you are probably looking at the new Ford Fiesta. Read More...

It's an odd feeling sitting in the driver's seat doing nothing more than feathering the brake pedal while the car parks itself. The park assist system is probably the headline-grabbing technology on the car that has everything... or at least you can have everything if you pay for the right level of specification. Read More...

At 9,500 petrol station forecourts, the UK now has the lowest number of petrol stations in its history since 1912 according to figures just released. This year to date 150 filling stations have closed, on top of the large number in recent years. Read More...

The Scottish Executive are taking plans for a replacement crossing for the Forth Bridge, out for public comment. The current Forth Road Bridge, built in 1964, is suffering corrosion in its suspension wires and, if work to stop this corrosion is unsuccessful, it is suggested that it may have to close to heavy vehicles by 2013. Read More...

Kia has two established niche markets where it is seen as a serious player in the UK - the MPV Sedona, beloved by taxi companies, and the Kia Sportage. Until the Cee'd, however, its saloons and hatchbacks have appealed largely to the motorist on a tight budget who is determined to drive a new, rather than second-hand car. Read More...

The Mini range will be extended this autumn with the launch of the new Mini Clubman. This is the third variation on the new Mini theme, building on the hatchback and the cabriolet. Read More...

When Subaru first appeared in the UK they were seen as workhorse vehicles for rural types. Pick ups and estate cars with some go-anywhere ability thanks to their four wheel drive system. Then, along came Colin McRae spearheading their high-profile world rally championship successes, Subaru suddenly became the sporty.
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To raise awareness of the problems caused by drivers who don't keep to the left lane, the Highways Agency has launched a DVD, presented by John Stapleton, called 'Stay Safe, Keep Moving'. Read More...

Does your vehicle look eerily like your neighbour’s? Are designers copying each other? If it passed you in the street could you "name that car?". Read More...

In making the new Mondeo more appealing, Ford have also recognised that company and private buyers these days like their “toys”. European buyers want a high specification as standard and they also like to ‘build their own car’ from an options list strong on goodies. The new Mondeo obliges. Read More...

Royal Mail is celebrating 100 years of UK motorsport with the launch six new stamps featuring British Grand Prix stars.
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Jaguar and Land Rover will almost certainly be bought by private equity investors as there is no interest from any other car companies around the world, according to a leading city analyst.
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A fleet of three BMW Hydrogen 7s will, tomorrow (5 June 2007), take part in the Revolve Brighton to London rally for low and zero-emission cars. Starting on Madeira Drive in Brighton, the fleet of Hydrogen 7s will follow a pre-planned route ending at Trafalgar Square in London. Read More...

Remember when getting a loaf of bread or a pint of milk meant just a short walk (or a short drive in the country) to the local corner shop? Now you probably make a family excursion to your local Tesco, ASDA, Sainsbury's or Morrisons. Now think about refuelling your car. Remember when refuelling the car was something you did when the fuel light came on? Oh, fuel light on, there's a station... fill up. Read More...

Volkswagen have celebrated thirty years of the Golf GTI with the launch of the Volkswagen Golf GTI Edition 30. And if you have been disappointed by the "softness" of some of the preceding models of GTI, this one is a cracker... a fire cracker! Read More...

Just over a year ago I was driving a Ford Consul convertible down the road into St Andrews and it set me thinking about how long it had been since Ford had been in the market with a drop-top version of one of their mainstream models. If you discount the SportKa, you have to look back to the Ford Escort Cabriolet.
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When are our politicians going to waken up to the fact that emissions from cars are something that simply won't be a problem in ten to twenty years time. Given that most "planning horizons" are ten years or more, our politicians are accelerating global warming by spouting a lot of hot air over a problem which will simply disappear.

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Fiat, recently a very lame duck in the motor industry, seems to be on a resurgence. Judging by the pictures of the new Fiat 500, its future looks very good indeed. Mini had better watch out. Fiat is after your crown! Read More...

A press release from Green Umbrella Sport and Leisure landed in my inbox this morning promoting a new DVD on the Greatest Ever TT Races. In the first sentence the press release says "In the early 20th century the English government refused to allow the closure of public roads for any sort of motor racing".
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A petition on the Downing Street website calling on the Prime Minister to scrap speed cameras has broken through the 20,000 figure, with a deadline for signatures set for June 29, 2007. Read More...

I remember going on the press launch for the first Hyundai Coupé (as opposed to its predecessor the Hyundai Scoupe - S Coupe get it?). The Scoupe was best forgotten so I didn't hold out much hope for the Coupé.
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The delicious XK8 has been facing some unusual resistance in the US market. Speaking with Ian Callum, Jaguar's design director he tells how there is some resistance to the XK8's air intake which harks back to the E-type original. Read More...

So petrol and diesel are to go up, but not until October. But they are to go up again in 2009. And the top whack of road tax is to go up to £300 then £400, but the bottom rate is going down by 35%... or is it?
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The Scottish Transport Minister, Tavish Scott, has announced that plans to introduce nationwide tolls on Scotland's roads have been shelved for at least four years.
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With 1.7 million names reportedly on the anti road toll petition on the Downing Street website it appears that the Government may be getting cold feet over the idea. Tony Blair is emailing all participants to try to persuade them that the government is only looking at the idea... honest! Read More...

Time spent in heavy traffic in Nairobi was a graphic reminder of how much the air quality in this country has improved, thanks to improvements in vehicle emissions.
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When I was a youngster I used to get so excited about every new car launch and get enthused about the new design direction it signified. Read More...

As more insight is gained into the Eddington Review, which proposes a system or road charging for England (similar charges are proposed in the National Transport Strategy for Scotland), it is becoming clear that motoring in the future could be very expensive. Read More...

I had to check the date when I heard that the Crown Prosecution service has floated the idea that talking to a passenger while driving could be made an offence.
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There have been suggestions that the Government will toughen up on traffic law, increasing the potential penalties for various offences. Is this finally a recognition that the focus on enforcing speed limits is entirely out of proportion with its effect on road safety? (Only 5% of accidents in 2005 were caused by exceeding the speed limit according to Government figures.)
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Putting 1.25p on a litre of fuel could be seen as road users getting off lightly and, certainly, all the green campaigners who have been baying for motorists to be squeezed till their pips squeaked, have been clamouring to get on the media to tell us so. Read More...

In advance on the Eddington Review which will propose a tax per mile for roads used, Professor David Begg said that the alternative was to build five times as many roads as are currently proposed. Where are all these extra cars, suggested in this horror-story scenario, supposed to come from?
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I've been driving the latest revised Kia Sorrento. It makes a very convincing case and is certain to become a more common sight on UK roads, particularly with the new more powerful 2.5-litre turbo diesel.
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With Ford having bought the Rover name to protect their own Land Rover brand, SAIC - who bought the rights to the Rover models - have had to reconsider their plans to start producing the cars with the Rover badge.
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Many years ago one of our motoring magazines started a campaign which they named LUNI - light up now idiot! As the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness is upon us, it is is as important a campaign now as it was then. Read More...

I've been driving a Nissan Note for the last week. Why does it have to beep so much? This constant nagging of differing tones of beep gets a bit wearing after a while. Read More...

Government figures published by the Department for Transport show that, in 2005, exceeding the speed limit was the cause of only 5% of road accidents. Read More...

I'm driving a Vauxhall Astra Twintop at the moment and very good it is too. But it has reminded me... why are manufacturers changing our switchgear to the type where the lever moves, but returns to its off position? Read More...

I find out how to do 57.6 mpg in a 4.7-metre long off-roader (with a little practice and some help from downhill gradients!). Read More...

I remember my “hot hatchback” years with considerable fondness. In the mid 80s the car to have was the Peugeot 205 GTI and I was fortunate enough to be able to graduate from the 1.6-litre to the top performance 1.9-litre.
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I recently drove along the M42 just as they were preparing to allow traffic to use a fourth lane, during peak periods, in a bid to beat congestion. The fourth lane is the hard shoulder. Read More...

Jaguar’s design team under Ian Callum faced a tough challenge in creating the new Jaguar XK Coupé and Cabriolet. To satisfy the traditionalists, the new model had to have the unmistakable looks of a ‘big cat’. But, at the same time, it was important for the future of the company it would appeal to a new, younger generation of buyers. Read More...

As we headed south on the A3 we saw the sign to the Goodwood Revival and kicked ourselves for having missed this motoring extravaganza par excellence. Read More...

Over the years I have been lucky enough to drive some exotic machinery. But I'm pretty sure that the most powerful car I have ever driven is my most recent test.
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