Stunning pictures of classic cars in Paris

The classic car market is booming and there have been not one, but two, auctions of beautiful historic cars in Paris in the past week alone. We've already reported on the inaugural RM Auctions Paris sale, which saw nearly £15 million's worth of the world’s rarest and most exotic cars going under the hammer, including a Jaguar D-type that sold for more than £3 million. The other was the annual Bonhams Les Grand Marques du Monde au Grand Palais car auction.

New Ford Mondeo: Estate, Hybrid and 4WD

The 2013 Ford Mondeo will come as a regular five door and estate but there will also be a four wheel diesel and a hybrid option. We’ve already reported that the new Mondeo will get the 1.0 litre EcoBoost engine as an option – the first time any car in the D Segment has had such a small engine – but there’s more to the new Mondeo than just a headline little engine and an Aston Martin grill. As well as the frugal EcoBoost engine, Ford will also be launching their first hybrid in Europe with a Mondeo Hybrid boasting a 2.0-litre petrol engine with a 35kW lithium-ion battery to trim official emissions and consumption as much as possible.

Ireland preparing to ban smoking in cars

Ireland prepare to ban smoking in cars Maybe the erosion of individual liberties should be secondary to safety (although we would argue the contrary), but surely banning smoking in cars – as Ireland appear close to doing – is a very silly route to go? Of course, since anything that can be remotely construed as a company car is already somewhere you’re not allowed to smoke, banning smoking in private cars is, perhaps, a logical step. The argument is that smoking in cars is detrimental to the health of children who are passengers.