Bbk® 1780 - Black Throttle Intake on 2040-parts.com

What defines a car’s nationality, Batty asks

Is the Mini German or British? Batty's not so sure – but what do you think? Click 'Add your comment' and let us know By Batty Motoring Issues 04 December 2008 12:41 CAR Online reader Batty ponders what gives a car a national flavour.

Electric cars must get noisier, ICE cars must get quieter

Electric cars will have to make a noise to protect pedestrians It’s four years since the Lotus solution for making electric cars noisy raised its head, since when the US has had a go at the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act in 2010 to do the same thing, the Japanese are playing too, and Toyota revealed the Prius Vehicle Notification System, and now the EU has decided its time to act to make EVs emit ‘noise’. Despite the most appealing part of an EV being that it makes our cities quieter, legislators worry about the blind, partially sighted and distracted pedestrian (think earphones and a Smartphone) being mowed down by a stalking electric car and feel the need to act. So the European Parliament has decided that by 2019 new models of electric vehicle will have to make a noise in cities, and that by 2021 all new hybrids and electrics must be noisy too.

New C-Class Breaks Cover

MERCEDES has released the first details of its hotly anticipated new generation C-Class. The compact executive model is expected to hit showrooms in mid 2014. As with an increasing number of cars, this new C-Class is lighter than the model it replaces, and Mercedes engineers have increased their focus on lowering CO2 emissions and fuel consumption through a series of weight reduction and engine upgrade programmes.