Pothole app gets goverment backing

A NEW SMARTPHONE APP to report potholes has been given backing by the government. The Department for Transport has given £30,000 to help develop the app, which has been launched by the Cyclists’ Touring Club (CTC). The app is part of the CTC’s ‘Fill That Hole’ pothole reporting website.

Ford C-Max & Grand C-Max get 1.0 litre EcoBoost

Ford has announced that the C-Max and Grand C-Max can now be had with the 1.0 litre EcoBoost engine with either 100PS or 125PS. It looks like Ford are determined to offer the little 1.0 litre EcoBoost engine in every car they make. In fact, if they still built a proper D-Segement car like the Scorpio it would probably find its way there too.

Better Place Electric Car visitor centre opens

Better Place have opened a visitor centre in Israel to demonstrate their battery swap technology for electric cars Last October we wrote about a start-up company in Israel – Better Place – that had a new way forward for electric cars by taking the purchase of battery packs out of the equation, and was developing a system for ‘Battery Swap’ stations where electric car owners could drive in and swap their battery pack for a fully-charged one in a few minutes. That story first brought to our attention our favourite quote of last year – by Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn – who said “A hybrid is like a mermaid: if you want a fish, you get a woman; if you want a woman, you get a fish.” Which probably explained why Nissan – and its partner Renault – got involved with Better Place. Better Place aims to address the main concerns of electric car drivers by making the battery packs in electric cars ‘swappable’.