Vintage Plastic Datsun Replacement Restoration Car Emblem (rf283) on 2040-parts.com

Mandelson to announce help for car makers

Lord Mandelson is the man charged with finding ways to fund UK Car purchases (yes, he of the dodgy mortgage debacle – at least he should know a few tricks!) as the credit crunch has dried up funding, leading to an unprecedented drop in new car sales in the UK. Mandelson is due to make a statement in the Lords just after 3pm today, outlining the help the government is going to offer to ailing car makers. Central to this package is expected to be a funding channel directly from the Bank of England to inject liquidity in to the car financing sector.

Happy Christmas to all CAR magazine readers!

Here's wishing all CAR magazine and online readers a very happy Christmas. Thanks for your support in 2012 - we're grateful for your contributions and posts, insightful letters and forum blogs over the past year. CAR Online will continue to operate over the Christmas period, so come back daily for more motoring news, reviews, blogs and scoops over the next week.

Great mileage? King Midget did that 50 years ago

WITH VIDEO -- As the world grapples with ever-decreasing stocks of inexpensive oil and ever-increasing traffic, the diminutive King Midget two-seater--made in the thousands from 1946 to 1970--starts to look pretty good. Again. "These cars will be the future kings of the road," said Petersen Automotive Museum director, and huge King Midget enthusiast, Dick Messer.