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A third of motorists don’t like driving

Ever take your car out for a spin for no apparent reason? If you do, you’re a rare breed according to research carried out by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM). Not only do two thirds of 2,229 drivers polled never drive for the sake of it – and a third actively dislike driving.

New British car company aims for bespoke market

A NEW BRITISH car company has been launched and the Alcraft Motor Company aims to offer bespoke designs based on existing models. The company says it will offer enhanced designs for Aston Martin, Jaguar and Land Rover models to begin with. Each design will be unique to the customer in a move that harks back to the days of coachbuilt cars of the 1920s.

CCTV ban will 'put pupils at risk'

GOVERNMENT PLANS to possibly ban CCTV parking cameras will put schoolchildren at risk, council leaders and head teachers have warned. Councils use CCTV enforcement vehicles to tackle dangerous and illegal parking outside schools including cars blocking driveways, driving along pavements and stopping on yellow zig-zag lines outside school gates. They are often introduced at the request of parents or teachers concerned about the safety of schoolchildren and act as a visible deterrent to the thoughtless minority of drivers who put children's safety at risk.

60% of drivers say no to more cyclist protection – survey

A MAJORITY of drivers believe that they should not change the way they drive despite a series of cyclist deaths on the roads of the capital, according to a survey carried out by Motorpoint. Over 1,700 respondents answered the poll on the vehicle retailer’s website, with 60.5% of those declaring that their driving standards did not need to be improved in order to better protect cyclists. The Government’s response was to launch Operation Safeway, which included officers stationed a busy and dangerous junctions in London and an increase in on the spot fines for poor behaviour by drivers and riders alike.

Record breaking Bluebird reunited with nose

WORLD LAND SPEED RECORD holder Sir Malcolm Campbell’s Bluebird CN7 car has been reunited with its original nose. The car’s original nose was damaged and then kept in Coventry since 1960, but it has now been brought back to the car that lives at the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu, Hampshire. Damaged during a World Land Speed Record attempt on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA, the nose of the car was sent back to Coventry for repairs and an updated design to help make the car more stable at very high speeds.

SEAT Leon Cupra 2014 first details and specs

SEAT There is a new SEAT Leon Cupra hot hatch coming in 2014 – and MSN Cars has been privileged enough to see it, ahead of the official unveiling on 8 January next year. The bad news is that there are no official pictures at this stage, so you’ll have to make do with the power of your mind and the details we have noted down to share with you. On Bing: see pictures of the 2014 SEAT Leon CupraFind out how much a used SEAT Leon Cupra costs on Auto Trader What is the new 2014 SEAT Leon Cupra?

One Lap of the Web: Gilbern GT1800, Porsche 911 Targa and Corvette flybys

A picture of what might be the next Porsche 911 Targa leaked onto the Web Friday from Automoto.fr. The photos show a retro look on the removable-top cruiser, which sports a bigger B-pillar than the hardtop. Speculation is that the car could debut as early as next year's Geneva motor show.

BMW makes 1,000 workers permanent

AROUND 1,000 agency workers at car giant BMW are to be made permanent employees, guaranteeing job security for years. The change, being made in two phases, was warmly welcomed by the Unite union, describing it as a great Christmas present. The announcement covers workers across a number of BMW sites including the Mini plant in Oxford, pressings plant in Swindon and Hams Hall engine site near Birmingham.

Range Rover Sport desert-bashing exploits now on video

The new Range Rover Sport demolished the Empty Quarter Last month we reported on an adventure for the Range Rover Sport (to add to its recent Pikes Peak jaunt), with Land Rover taking the new Sport off to the Empty Quarter Desert in Saudi Arabia (which also runs through  Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen) to see if they could cross it in a day. The Empty Quarter – the largest sand desert in the world – has endless miles (well, 500 miles) of hostile sand and dunes and temperatures as high as 50C – so it was quite a task. Land Rover enlisted Dakar Rally man Moi Torrallardona to take the driver’s seat and he managed to take the RRS through the Empty quarter in just 10 hours 22 minutes at an average speed of 51.7 mph.

Holden to stop making cars in Australia

Fresh from the news that General Motors (GM) will be pulling its Chevrolet brand out of mainstream markets in Europe, the automotive giant has now confirmed that its Australian subsidiary, Holden, will stop making cars Down Under by the end of 2017. It’s further bad news for GM, but even more so for the 2,900 Australian people who are set to lose their jobs as a result of the closure. And it’s a sad and disappointing end for the famous Holden marque, which can trace its history back as far as 1856.

One in six drivers admits 'bump parking'

ALMOST one in six drivers admits to deliberately letting their car hit an adjacent one when trying to park. Known as ‘bump parking’, it means drivers simply carry on moving until they hit the car they’re heading towards. The figure rises to a shocking 26% – more than a quarter – among those living in London, with UK-wide drivers aged 18-34 recording the same statistic.

Spanish street named after car racing video game creator

THE SPANISH town of Ronda has named a street after the creator of car racing phenomenon Gran Turismo. Kazunori Yamauchi, the man behind all six Gran Turismo games and their respective PlayStation spin-offs, was honoured in an on-street ceremony by the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Ronda, where the new street sign was unveiled. Paseo de Kazunori Yamauchi runs along the edge of the stunning ravine that makes Ronda a popular tourist destination.

Jose Mourinho supercar (2014) first teaser shot

By Ollie Kew First Official Pictures 13 December 2013 17:56 In an own goal for taste, Chelsea FC manager Jose ‘Special One’ Mourinho has joined a joint project with tuning firm Mansory and self-styled high society club Raff House to create a new supercar. The finished car, of which just eleven will be made (accept no substitutes) is designed to ‘unite the best of Ferrari and Aston Martin’, according to the promotional literature. A single teaser image has been revealed, showing a carbonfibre-bodied coupe with vertical exhaust outlets and faintly McLaren 12C-esque rear lights.

Vauxhall reveals 576-hp VXR8 GTS sedan

It appears that Australians have figured out how to make spectacular American-style muscle cars, and they're willing to share with the British. At least that's what the Vauxhall VXR8 GTS looks like on paper. Vauxhall has just revealed a a mean looking piece of machinery that may remind you of a car or two from its side profile, an they've spilled the details on this beast ahead of its launch at the Autosport International auto show.

New Mercedes S Class Coupe caught on video ahead of production debut

New Mercedes S Class Coupe caught on video ahead of production debut The new Mercedes S Class Coupe – the coupe version of the 2014 Mercedes S Class and a replacement for the old Mercedes CL – arrived as a concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. And it looked very good. Now, with a debut of the production version of the S-Class Coupe likely to arrive at next month’s Detroit Auto Show, we have a quick look at the new S-Class Coupe on-road in a short spy video, albeit covered in the de rigeur swirly black and white camouflage.

New Vauxhall VXR8 GTS will finally debut at the Performance Car Show next month

The Vauxhall VXR8 GTS (pictured) will finally debut in January We got details of the new Vauxhall VXR8 GTS back in May, with a promise from Vauxhall that the first cars would be delivered by the end of the year. But that hasn’t happened. But now, just a bit late, Vauxhall has revealed that the VXR8 GTS will debut at the Performance Car Show alongside Autosport International next month.

Porsche Macan to get VW 4-cylinder engines in 2014

The new Porsche Macan (pictured) will get 4-cylinder engine options in 2014 The new Porsche Macan arrived officially just a few weeks ago, complete with a choice of six-cylinder petrol and diesel engines and prices starting at £43k. But that’s just the start. Porsche has now confirmed that, before the end of 2014, the Macan will get some more affordable engine options with both petrol and diesel 4-cylinder engines finding their way under the Macan’s Cayenne-esque bonnet.

This bus concept brightens up journeys with transparent LCD screens

Designer Tad Orlowski has explored how technology could shape public transit vehicle design with his new ‘Willie' bus concept, which trades windows and body panels transparent LCD screens. With static advertising space replced with LCD screens the bus is transformed into a mobile billboard that display not only advertising but also information such as route plans, weather reports and suggestions for tourists. They could also have touch functions, allowing passengers to interact with the displays.

Meet the Autoweek Best of the Best winners

Another year and another few hundred new cars and trucks have driven through the Autoweek garage for editorial evaluation. To what end? Well, other than giving you our unvarnished opinions, it really comes down to this—when we present the annual Autoweek Best of the Best/Car and Best of the Best/Truck awards.

Poor quality diesel blamed for winter breakdowns

Thousands of drivers are risking a winter breakdown through being sold poor quality diesel fuel, the RAC has warned. All makes and models of car are at risk, says the breakdown recovery provider, with breakdowns proving more prevalent in eastern England and Scotland, and the greatest concentration of breakdowns occurring in the North East. Winter motoring guide Winter driving tips The organisation hasn’t yet found the root cause of the problem – so it is working with fuel retailers to work out what’s causing it.

BMW reveals ferocious new M3 and M4

IF YOU’RE no fan of Top Gear-style wheel-spinning, tyre-smoking oversteer, then it’s probably best to look away now, because BMW has unveiled the new M3 and M4. Essentially the same car underneath, the main differences come in the number of doors and the suspension settings, with the M3 built as a four-door, slightly more forgiving saloon and the M4 as a harder-edged two-door coupe. But both will go very sideways, if that’s the sort of thing that revs your engine, thanks to a shared 425bhp six-cylinder engine that sends all that juicy power to the rear wheels.

Families spending less on transport - new figures revealed

THE LATEST Family Spending data shows that UK households spent £489 on average per week in 2012, according to the Office for National Statistics. Once inflation is taken into account, average spending has decreased since 2006 when households spent £526.40. Transport has seen the biggest spending reduction taking inflation into account, falling from £87.10 per week in 2001/2002 to £64.10 in 2012 despite the price of petrol increasing substantially over this period.

Leonardo DiCaprio launches Formula E racing team

Formula E Star of the silver screen Leonardo DiCaprio has launched his own racing team. Called Venturi Automobiles, the new motorsport outfit will campaign a single-seater racing car in the first season of the Formula E all-electric championship next year. On Bing: see pictures of Leonardo DiCaprioOn Bing: see pictures of Formula EWhat is Formula E?

CAR 20 Most Wanted of 2014: BMW i8

By the CAR editorial team First Official Pictures 12 December 2013 15:00 There's no more exciting way to start our top 20 most wanted countdown than with a BMW supercar. This is no petrol-powered M1 successor three decades late, but a sexy hybrid capable of a 4.5sec 0-62mph sprint, or a fairy-tale 114mpg. The i8 started life as a finger-in-the-air 2009 concept; in 2014, the mid-engined 2+2-seater goes on sale with its layout intact, the only big change being the loss of transparent bodysections.

Speed cameras to be switched back on

The mayor of Bristol has announced that speed cameras across the city will be switched back on after they were turned off two years ago. Mayor George Ferguson said that work will start in 2014 to re-commission the 26 speed and traffic light cameras that lost funding from central government in 2011. On Bing: see pictures of speed cameras Speed cameras making a comeback At the same time, the BBC reports, Ferguson and police commissioner Sue Mountstevens revealed 15 community speed watch schemes, where volunteers monitor speeds with detection equipment.

Nissan aiming to build radically different 2015 Le Mans prototype

By Ben Pulman 12 December 2013 12:00 Nissan is targeting an entry into the 2015 Le Mans 24hrs with a race car that will be radically different to the LMP1 prototypes fielded by Porsche, Audi and Toyota. Nissan will compete at Le Mans in 2014 with the radical ZEOD RC, filling the ‘experimental competitor’ pit garage last used in 2012 by the Nissan-powered DeltaWing, but it wants to use that experience to build a challenger for the premier LMP1 category in 2015, one that stands out from the rest of the field. ‘We have an active programme now,’ Nissan chief planning officer Andy Palmer (pictured, right) told CAR.

Alcraft Motor Company to ‘reinterpret’ British vehicles

Alcraft Motor Company, a new British bespoke design and engineering business, has launched its first design study in a line of concepts that will “reinterpret vehicles using British design values.” With the help of students from the Royal College of Art, Alcraft will initially focus on marques with British heritage, including Aston Martin, Jaguar and Land Rover. On Bing: see pictures of Range Rovers Find out how much a used Range Rover costs on Auto Trader It’s this last brand Alcraft is turning its attention to first, reimagining the 2013 model year Range Rover with even more of a British spin. Here’s how, according to Alcraft design consultant Matthew Humphries: “We’re extremely pleased with how the Range Rover study has turned out.

Autoweek Best of the Best/Car - Chevrolet Corvette

The Corvette beat two other stout new cars, the Mercedes-Benz S550 and Jaguar F-Type. We haven't exactly been shy about our lust for Chevrolet's seventh-generation two-seater. Corvette engineers were charged with developing a car that would exceed expectations of the Corvette faithful, one that would also be the greatest performance car for the dollar on the planet.

New BMW M3 and M4 revealed for 2014

This is it, folks – this is your early petrolheaded Christmas present: BMW has released full details of the new BMW M3 Saloon and M4 Coupe. And we do mean full details. Output of 431 turbocharged horsepower is the headline, but really it’s the extent of the engineering overhaul carried out by BMW’s M division that really stuns the senses here.

Autoweek Best of the Best/Truck - Chevrolet Silverado

When we first saw the new Chevy Silverado, we thought, “Hmmm, styling's conservative, interior quality looks a bit better … these things better drive well or Chevy's in a heap of trouble.” No doubt, the new Silverado is an outstanding full-size pickup, so much so we put one on our June 24 cover and said that it was “more refined than ever.”And that's really the story here. In our Best of the Best testing, we found the Silverado to be as quiet, refined and smooth as one could ask from a full-size pickup. Testers also were impressed with the body control (for a large truck) and outstanding ride.