MP calls for taxis to have CCTV

HIGH RISK situations for taxi drivers could be mitigated by installing CCTV cameras in all minicabs and taxis, according to a Conservative MP. Bedford MP Richard Fuller said that cameras, which are long overdue, would also help make passengers feel safer. Proposing his Licensed Hackney carriages and private hire vehicles (Closed circuit television) Bill, Mr Fuller said: "In this Bill, I would propose that we should provide for secure and encrypted CCTV." Mr Fuller's Bill would ensure that recordings would only be for police access and only in specific cases.

Citroen's Survolt charges into life at Le Mans Classic

French cars, Belgian drivers and a French track sounds like a recipe for Gallic flair (well, almost). And so it proved at the weekend when Vanina Ickx, daughter of six-time winner at Le Mans, lapped the track in the new Citroen Survolt concept car. Also lapping the French track at the 2010 Le Mans Classic was the GTbyCITROEN concept car, alongside a brace of DS3s.

BMW set to go front-wheel drive

BMW chairman Norbert Reithofer has confirmed that the German carmaker will introduce a new front-wheel-drive entry-level model positioned and priced below the existing 1-series as part of plans to help increase part sharing and to bolster the potential for production savings between the BMW and Mini brands, thus bringing an end to the era of rear- and four-wheel-drive-only BMW models. Speaking to AutoWeek at the Geneva motor show, Reithofer said internal BMW studies revealed that despite the downturn in the world's economy, there was continued demand for what he described as "premium vehicles" in the small-car class, before officially acknowledging plans that will see BMW produce a rival to the recently unveiled Audi A1 and a new Smart Forfour presently under development at Mercedes-Benz. "We will be extending the BMW and Mini brands into the small-car segment with new models and variants," he said.