1982 John Deere 440 Trailfire Snowmobile: Complete Taillight Assembly on 2040-parts.com

A Right Old Estate of Affairs

A NEW study from car hire Europcar has revealed that, while a practical, versatile estate car might be just the ticket for a busy life, it’s not the car of choice to create a lasting impression on a first date. According to the firm’s survey, just one percent of respondents said they would choose an estate car when hiring for a special day, with women put off by the practicality of estates. Unsurprisingly, prestige vehicles topped the list for the car to make the best impression at 32%.

Hybrid owners sue Ford over Fusion, C-Max mpg claims

Pennsylvania car owners are suing Ford Motor Co., claiming that the 2013 Fusion hybrid and C-Max hybrid are not delivering on promised fuel-efficiency figures, according to a report from Bloomberg. Both hybrid models are advertised to return 47 mpg, but the owners say that number is inflated to seem more competitive among other midsize sedans, according to their court filing. The complaint says car owners who have submitted estimates to a fuel-economy tracking website averaged 38.5 mpg, a 10-mpg difference that can cost an additional $1,800 in fuel costs over five years, Bloomberg reports.

BMW leads Audi, Mercedes-Benz in June global luxury-sales race

BMW AG's core brand topped rivals Audi and Mercedes-Benz, selling 134,432 cars worldwide in June, a rise of 12.3 percent over 2010 figures, the company said today. Mercedes sold a record 120,510 units in June, a rise of 6.4 percent, topping Audi, which saw June sales grew 19 percent to 117,650 cars last month. BMW brand's global deliveries, boosted by sales of the new 5-series sedan and X3 SUV, rose 17.8 percent to 689,861 units in the first six months of the year, ahead of Audi's 17.7 percent rise to 652,950 cars.