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Volkswagen Golf GTE Plug-in Hybrid UK debut

The VW Golf GTE (pictured) gets its UK debut at the NEX next week The Volkswagen Golf GTE – which VW see as a plug-in hybrid Golf GTI – was revealed in February ahead of its debut at the Geneva Motor Show last month and is now heading for the Gadget Show Live at the NEC next week for its UK debut. With a 1.4 litre TSI petrol turbo producing 148bhp and a 101 bhp electric motor, the Golf GTE promises decent performance – 0-62mph in 7.6 seconds – daft official economy figures of 188 mpg and the ability to run on electric power only for up to 31 miles. It’s an appealing combination for a Golf that can offer city running benefits with a turn of decent performance when the mood takes, although at a price likely to be north of £30k it’s not exactly a budget buy.

One Lap of the Web: Fake movie cars, Russian dash cams and 'Forza'

We spend a lot of time on the Internet -- pretty much whenever we're not driving, writing about or working on cars. Since there's more out there than we'd ever be able to cover, here's our daily digest of car stuff on the Web you may not otherwise have heard about. -- We all know most movie cars can be fake, but some are a step above the rest.

Monthly sales projected to rise 15 percent, J.D. Power says

December is shaping up to show the U.S. industry's strongest year-over-year sales increase of what's been a dismal 2009. Expect a 15 percent spike in new vehicle sales in December, powered by a retail surge, according to projections released today by industry forecaster J.D.