Daihatsu Copen revised

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 14 March 2007 09:08 The Daihatsu Copen - a Suzuki Cappuccino for the 21st century? Britain's cheapest roadster has been given a massive engine boost, after Daihatsu chopped the 660cc engine in the Copen for a 1.3 twin-cam. The Copen was conceived under Japan's K-car rules for short micro cars with engines under 0.7 litres, and its right-hand drive status meant it was imported to the UK market.

Crash avoidance technology 'can cut crashes by a third'

GROUND-BREAKING rear-end crash avoidance technology can cut the likelihood of these accidents by up to a third, according to the latest crash test results by European safety body Euro NCAP. The Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) systems were trialled by Euro NCAP, which independently tests the crash safety standards of new cars in Europe. It tested the cars by driving them towards a dummy car made of an airbag to see which would stop before a collision occurred.

Ford Escort set for Beijing motor show debut

Ford is set to unveil a production version of the Escort sedan at the China auto show this month in Beijing, meant exclusively for the Chinese market. The Escort was previewed in near-production concept form last year at the Shanghai motor show, and is meant to take on competitors positioned just above the Ford Focus sedan. Even though the Ford Escort has been absent from the automaker's global lineup since 2000, Ford of China is reviving the nameplate for this sub-Fusion/Mondeo model which will compete with cars such as the Volkswagen Sagitar and Chevrolet Cruze in the Chinese market.