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Call for ban on in-car hands-free phones

Road safety charity Brake is calling for a blanket ban on in-car hands-free phone systems. Using a hand-held phone while driving is already illegal in the UK, so a proposal to prohibit even hands-free kits would completely eradicate calling from behind the wheel. On Bing: see pictures of people using mobile phones while driving 1 in 3 use mobile phone behind the wheel A decade on from when the mobile phone ban was introduced, Brake is asking the government to assess its policy on all forms of telephone communication while driving.

McLaren F1 sells for $8.47 million at Gooding & Co’s Pebble Beach Auction

McLaren F1 chassis #66 (pictured) has sold for $8.47 million There’s been an inexorable rise in the price of classic cars in recent years as rich men realise that certain classic cars not only have huge appeal, but appear to be going only one way in price. Add to that – certainly in the UK – that any profits made on the sale of a classic car you’ve bought for your own enjoyment are tax free, and it’s no shock that values keep rising, and the rarer the car the more they rise. So with only 64 road cars made, the McLaren F1 can be considered a sound investment, with values rising since it first sold in the 1990s for around £640,000 to a new world record auction price set last night of £8.47 million (around £5.42m).

Ford Focus RS has 1000 UK orders

By Nick Eaton Motor Industry 11 September 2008 16:05 Ford UK has confirmed its dealers have received more than 1000 orders for the new Focus RS, despite the rampant hot hatch having only been unveiled at the British motor show two months ago. By way of comparison, Ford UK only sold 2200 previous-generation Focus RS models in two whole years. According to Ford, 40 percent of customers have requested the Electric Green paint (pictured in CAR's exclusive photoshoot above), while Frozen White and Electric Blue have also been popular choices. There’s been no word on ASBO Orange just yet… As well as the choice of colour, punters can spec a Lux pack, a premium sat-nav system and leather, though we’d recommend sticking with the standard trim on the excellent Recaros.