May 2009: UK new car sales and trends analysis

By Peter Adams Motor Industry 04 June 2009 12:00 The scrappage scheme was supposed to give the UK car market a massive boost, but latest figures out today show new car registrations are still down by more than a quarter. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reports that new car registrations fell 24.8% in May 2009 to 134,858 units. However, this fall marks an improvement on earlier months of the year.

Nissan Leaf – first photos of Nissan’s electric car

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 03 August 2009 09:00 Nissan this weekend unveiled the Leaf – its new battery-powered electric car. The Nissan Leaf is pitched as ‘the world’s first affordable, zero-emission car’, a bespoke EV for global sale. The range of the Nissan Leaf is more than 100 miles – enough for 70% of people’s driving requirements, says Nissan, and it can seat five adults.

Ram 1500 diesel changes the pickup truck game

It's ironic perhaps that I spent yesterday evening driving a Ford F-150 equipped with the excellent EcoBoost twin-turbo V6 engine. It's got loads of low-end torque and, on paper, its fuel economy is better than that of a comparable gas V8. It even sounds a bit like a diesel…but it isn't.