POTHOLES cause 'over £1 billion in damage every year'

POTHOLES are costing British drivers £1.2 billion every year due to damage to suspension, steering and wheels. This is a 16% rise in the cost of damage to cars on the UK’s roads and the weather has played a major part in the rise in the number of potholes. Councils say they don’t have the money to deal with the problem due to budget cuts and there has also been an 18% increase in the number of dangerous potholes reported during the past 12 months according to the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA).

Land Rover reveals rejigged Discovery at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show

Land Rover has revealed a surprisingly comprehensive facelift for the Discovery range here at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show – and the firm has underlined the changes with some new badging for the Discovery range. Instead of having ‘LAND ROVER’ on the bonnet, the new Discovery has, well, ‘DISCOVERY’ lettering. That’s because Land Rover wants to make Discovery into its own brand, a bit like Range Rover: here at Frankfurt 2013, we’re seeing the first steps in this rebranding.

VW Touareg BlueMotion hits the UK

Volkswagen has announced the VW Touareg BlueMotion for the UK Offering improved economy and lower emissions, the Touareg BlueMotion manages to drop in to a lower Co2 band by emitting 219g/km (a reduction from 244g/km on the V6 TDi) and it delivers 34mpg as opposed to 30.4mpg on the V7 TDi. These improvements have been achieved by the usual ECU tweaking, low rolling resistance tyres, some aerodynamic tweaks and a lower ride height (exactly the same sort of stuff that Ford has done on the EConetic range). And the penalty for the lower emissions and better economy is very slight, with the Touareg BlueMotion still managing the 0-60mph in 8.5 seconds and a top speed of  126mph.