New Peugeot 301 introduces new Peugeot numbering

Peugeot 301 The new Peugeot 301 saloon is revealed ahead of a Paris 2012 debut, launching Peugeot’s new numbering for its models. It’s not a car we’ll be getting in the UK and Europe, but the new Peugeot 301 is important nonetheless as Peugeot expect it to be one of their biggest sellers. Coming in at 4440mm long – which is a bit bigger than a 308 but smaller than a 508 – the Peuegot 301 is a saloon car that’s being built in Spain and aimed at the car markets in Turkey, Eastern Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Greece, Middle East and Africa.

Now Porsche catches the SUV Coupe bug with plans for a Cayenne Coupe

Porsche are planning a coupe version of the next Cayenne (current Turbo S pictured) No one thought the BMW X6 would sell; after all, who would want an SUV with a compromised coupe roofline? But it seems plenty of buyers do – the BMW X6 sells at twice the rate BMW predicted – which is why we’re getting an X6 clone in the new Mercedes GL Coupe – likely to be the Mercedes MLC – heading for a Mercedes showroom near you sometime soon after being previewed by the Mercedes Concept Coupe. Now, Porsche are apparently playing the SUV Coupe game with plans for a coupe version of the next generation Cayenne in 2018, according to Autocar, to make sure BMW and Mercedes don’t have things all their own way.

Chevrolet Volt uses parts made from oil-collecting booms

General Motors is transforming about 100 miles of boom material used to soak up oil in the Gulf of Mexico into auto parts for the Chevrolet Volt. The oil-soaked plastic material collected off the Alabama and Louisiana coasts will keep more than 100,000 pounds of waste from the nation's landfills. The project is expected to make enough plastic to supply the first-year production of Volts with plastic parts for under the hood.