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India Vehicle Design Summit 2014 announced for April

The India Vehicle Design Summit 2014 will be the first in its history to focus exclusively on the ‘design and styling' of commercial and passenger vehicles. Taking place at The Corinthians Resort and Club in Pune from 24-25 April, the summit will feature speakers from brands including Jaguar, Ferrari and McLaren and industry experts from companies such as Volvo, GM and Tata as well as institutions such as the National Institute of Design in India and London's Royal College of Arts. Confirmed speakers include Volvo China's chief designer Gustavo Guerra, renowned designer Peter Stevens and Anil Saiini, director of design at GM India.

Ford offers dealers 20% discount on aluminum-repair tools

NEW ORLEANS -- Ford is offering dealerships with body shops a 20 percent discount on the $30,000 to $50,000 in special equipment and training needed to repair the 2015 aluminum pickup. Dealers can get a maximum of $10,000 off if they buy the gear before Oct. 31, said Paul Massie, Ford collision marketing manager.

Sunroof smash woman narrowly escapes injury

A WOMAN narrowly escaped serious injury last week when an unidentified object was dropped from a motorway bridge onto her car, police said. The woman, from Norfolk, was driving northwards on the M11 at around 5.15pm on Tuesday when the item was thrown from the bridge over the motorway at junction seven (Harlow). The sunroof of the black Volkswagen Golf was smashed but the woman was miraculously uninjured.

Parking wardens given ‘illegal’ bonus targets

Parking wardens are given ‘illegal’ bonuses based on the number of fines they dish out, according to an investigation by the BBC. Three London Councils are now being probed by Local Government Minister, Brandon Lewis, as a result of the BBC’s research. On Bing: see pictures of bad parking UK pays £30 million a month in parking fines Bromley Council’s parking firm Vinci reportedly paid wardens a bonus of £20 a ticket, with a target of 72,000 penalty charge notices – while Lambeth’s parking enforcement contractors NSL ‘requires’ 205,000 tickets to be issued a year.

Hand-built Porsche ‘Frankfurt Flyer’ special up for sale on eBay

This piece of organic looking, handcrafted aluminium is called the ‘Frankfurt Flyer’ – a bespoke creation by American engineer Chris Runge. It’s rather special too, as the original Flyer racecar is the forebear to one of the most famous Porsche models ever, the 550 Spyder. This is one man’s painstaking recreation of one of the finest post-war sports cars to ever see the light of day, and it could be yours for $60,000 – around £36,500.

One Lap of the Web: More McLaren P1 madness, Nissan's cute Le Mans engine and get weird in a Subaru SVX coupe

-- We drove the 2015 McLaren P1. We liked the 2015 McLaren P1. And in that sense, we've very much like Jay Leno, who toured the hypercar's hyper-futuristic factory in Woking, England before putting it through its paces on the track.

McLaren talks P13 Porsche 911 fighter

McLaren will take a stab at Porsche and Ferrari’s bread and butter segment in the upcoming years. Autocar reports -- after talking with chief executive Mike Flewitt -- that the company is building the a car, codenamed P13, which could be revealed in time for next year’s Geneva Motor Show. Autocar says it will sit below the 12C and well below the freshly driven P1.

2015 Nissan GT-R: facts and figures

Last week we told you about the 2015 Nissan GT-R, which will hit dealerships later this year. The latest GT-R will cost $103,365. The all-out track version will set you back $117,305.

Best of British: top 10 cars built in Britain during 2013

British car factories are booming, building more than 1.5 million cars during 2013. This is not only great news for the manufacturers, but it’s great news for the country too – because the vast majority of these cars were exported abroad. This brings money into the UK, strengthens our economy and also maintains jobs for hundreds of thousands of British workers – a real win-win story.

2014 Chevrolet Reaper bumps Silverado to 550 hp

It was only a matter of time before a Chevy Silverado decided to give the Ford Raptor a run for its money, in this case via noted tuner John Lingenfelter. The company announced its new Chevrolet Reaper project at the National Automotive Dealers Association last Friday. The 2014 Reaper is the result of a conversion kit that takes an average Silverado -- already a good truck -- and puts it on steroids, so to speak.

Crusade saves Brighton Speed Trials

THE BRIGHTON Speed Trials, thought to be the longest-running motorsport event in the UK, has been saved following a crusade backed by thousands of people. Since 1905, the annual event has gained international acclaim for showcasing top-class cars and motorbikes racing over a quarter of a mile at Madeira Drive on Brighton's seafront. Organisers launched a campaign amid fears the event could be scrapped because Green-led Brighton and Hove City Council had not accepted an application to host it this year.

Panda Antarctica starts epic trip to Sochi Games

THE WINTER-THEMED limited-edition Fiat Panda 4x4 Antarctica has set out on an epic commute from Turin to its Winter Olympics home in Sochi, Russia. The Panda Antarctica, in association with sponsors Nokia, Nitro Snowboards and Beats by Dr Dre, began its journey last week. It’s a marketing exercise aimed at young people, who might be into fashion or winter sports and who just might buy a Panda.

Bentley announces 'Home Collection'

IF YOU’VE ever fancied a slice of Bentley lifestyle in your home, you’re in luck. The Crewe-based firm has tied up with an Italian furniture builder to produce the Bentley ‘Home Collection’ of domestic and executive homeware. The pieces, says Bentley, are “an exercise in subtlety, incorporating functional performance with comfort and luxurious, sensuous quality.” And we thought it was just a range of things to sit on.

Labour calls for ban on in-car smoking with children

Labour has called for a ban on smoking in cars when carrying children as passengers. The proposal, as part of an amendment to the Children’s and Families Bill, will go before the House of Lords on Wednesday. On Bing: see pictures of smoking drivers Ban smoking in cars with kids?

Vauhall Adam: a “smartphone on wheels”

Vauxhall The Vauxhall Adam Black Edition and Adam White Edition are now on sale; the company says that the tech-packed special-edition models were inspired by smartphones. The Adam Black Edition and Adam White Edition both come with Vauxhall’s IntelliLink infotainment and Siri voice control activation as standard. Drivers with a compatible iPhone can use the system via steering wheel controls and voice commands.

Still Too Many Having One For The Road

NEW figures point to an average of 200 drivers arrested per day for drink driving related offences over the past Christmas period. The data, from the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), show that 6,550 drivers gave positive breath tests or refused or failed to give a test out of 191,040 drivers. The campaign ran from November 29 to January 1 across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Lamborghini Urus SUV confirmed for 2017 – again

The Lamborghini Urus SUV (pictured) has been signed-off for production by VW It’s already two years since the Lamborghini Urus SUV went from speculation to reality as a concept version arrived at the 2012 Beijing Motor Show. Since then we’ve had speculation that, apart from being underpinned by the next generation large SUV platform from VW, which will underpin everything from the Bentley Falcon SUV to the next generation Audi Q7, the Urus will probably be fitted with a twin-turbo V8 delivering around 600bhp, a take on the 4.0 litre twin turbo used by Bentley and Audi. We’ve also had confirmation from a Lamborghini source that the Urus SUV will launch in 2017 and spearhead Lamborghini’s drive to reach annual sales of 3000 cars.

Top Gear Series 21 starts 2nd February – new video trailer

Top Gear Series 21 starts 2nd February Last weekend we brought you the first trailer for series 21 of Top Gear, although it basically consisted of Jeremy Clarkson moaning about lorries whilst driving a VW up! At that time, the BBC were still being cagey about when the new series of Top Gear (although we did expect it to start on 2nd Feb), but now BBC Media have managed to add it to their official schedule details so it’s now officially confirmed to start on 2nd Feb. Now we get a new trailer for the new TG Series, and this one is much more typical with mayhem and nonsense abounding including 1980s hot hatches, lorry racing, supercars, quad bikes on water, tanks and, of course, the McLaren P1.

‘Charge rage’ on the up for electric car owners

Forget ‘range anxiety’, the latest term to sweep the world of electric cars is ‘charge rage’. The new phenomenon hitting owners of zero-emission vehicles relates to the growing number of electric cars on the roads – because public charging infrastructure is failing to expand at the same rate. On Bing: see pictures of electric car charging points Find out how much a used electric car costs on Auto Trader This means owners are actually fighting over these plug-in points, with some rather unsavoury behaviour reported causing charge rage for many electric car drivers.

Concept Car of the Week: Opel CD (1969)

Despite its sophisticated suspension and spacious interior, Opel struggled to sell its big Diplomat luxury sedan. It was 1968 and Opel simply couldn't compete with Mercedes-Benz, the leader in that segment by far. Bob Lutz, then a young executive at GM Europe, thought of using the sedan's chassis to create a large GT Coupe in an attempt to boost both its sales and profile.

New high-performance VW Golf R Evo and Polo R under consideration

It has not been two minutes since the Volkswagen Golf R was unveiled, but that hasn’t stopped an even more hardcore Golf R Evo concept being mooted – the more focused prototype could make its debut at the 2014 Beijing Motor Show in April. It’s not the only go-faster Volkswagen that’s under consideration, either. Linking in with its assault on the World Rally Championship, VW is also analysing a potential 250hp, four-wheel-drive Polo R variant.

Audi Q7 S Line Sport and Style Editions revealed

Audi Q7 S Line Style Edition and S Line Sport Edition revealed The Audi Q7 is rapidly becoming invisible in the premium SUV market as it’s overshadowed by newer offerings from BMW and Mercedes, and from Land Rover too. But we’re expecting an all new Audi Q7 to arrive later in 2014 which, Audi hope, will offer enough to make the Q7 relevant to buyers of big, luxury SUVs once again. But in the meantime, Audi still wants to be shifting Q7s from their showrooms so we get a pair of special edition Q7s – the Q7 S Line Sport Edition and S Line Style Edition – to hopefully add a bit of fizz to Q7 sales.

Watch The Stig crush Google Street View

Some say he downloaded his entire browsing history into his right pinky. Some say he linked his Youtube account to his brain and now translates comments into Swahili. All we know is, he's called the Stig.

Renault axes Fluence Z.E. electric saloon

Renault has ceased production of its all-electric Fluence Z.E. saloon car at its European factory in Turkey due to poor sales. Figures from industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show that only 75 Fluence Z.E.s were sold in the UK since the car went on the market in 2011.

Fuel discount proposed for rural areas

MOTORISTS in exceptionally rural areas could see their fuel bills cut by up to 5p a litre under proposals aimed at easing the burden on the UK's remotest families. The UK Government has asked the European Commission to consider seven new regions across Scotland and in a part of north-east England. Chief Treasury Secretary Danny Alexander, a Highlands MP, said: "High fuel prices in areas where cars are a necessity, not a luxury, is a major issue in rural communities across the UK.

We Preview the Grand National Roadster Show

Every year at the Grand National Roadster Show you'll find one guy who gripes about all the multi-million-dollar cars entered in the show's premier competition category, the dozen open-topped two-seaters competing for the prestigious title of America's Most Beautiful Roadster. Well somebody find that guy and bring him by because this year there's only one – count it, one - Chip Foose-designed, Troy Trepanier-built entry. The rest are built by regular guys just like you and me.

Top Gear test track added to Google Street View

TOP GEAR fans can follow in the tyre tracks of The Stig after the BBC show's test track was added to Google Street View. The location at Dunsfold Aerodrome, Surrey, has been the venue for star guests such as Benedict Cumberbatch and Damian Lewis to drive a lap for the programme. Test driver The Stig - at the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black - accompanied the Google car as it did a circuit of the 2.82km track.

Insurance interest costs motorists millions

BRITISH drivers are paying £682 million more than they should be for their car insurance by paying monthly. Most insurers charge a high rate of interest for the privilege of spreading payments out over the year, with the average pay-monthly customer hit by an additional £88. Almost a third of people (31%) pay their car insurance by monthly direct debit, market research from Consumer Intelligence has discovered.

World’s biggest classic car auction sells Simon Cowell’s Bugatti!

Ever heard of the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction? No, we hadn’t either, but it’s been dubbed the ‘world's greatest collector car auction’, with the last sale resulting in 1,400 vehicles sold for a total sum exceeding a cool $113 million. The Scottsdale auction is a mecca for classic car nuts and celebrity spotters alike, with six days of live, high-definition auction action played on Fox TV.

Lexus Unveils Cleaner, Greener Compact Exec CT 200H

BUYERS seeking the often-mythical combination of premium ambience and supermini levels of economy can now look to the revised Lexus CT 200h. The Japanese firm has revised its compact exec hybrid for 2014 with a class-leading 82g/km CO2 rating and combined fuel consumption of 78.5mpg. No doubt Lexus hopes the changes will tempt an increasing number of business users to the CT.