Bmw 530i Engine Brain Box, Electronic Control Module, 04 05 on 2040-parts.com

What scrappage incentives are doing to the European market

Scrappage incentive By Glenn Brooks Motor Industry 21 May 2009 10:15 Remember the old shape Skoda Octavia? We might not be able to buy it in Blighty but it’s roaring up the sales charts in Germany thanks to scrappage incentives on offer there. All across Europe, cash-for-clunkers schemes are turning markets upside down, with the brands that offer the most car for the money the biggest winners.

'400,000 children in smoky cars'

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of children travel in smoke-filled cars every week, a charity has warned. The British Lung Foundation (BLF) estimates that in England more than 430,000 children aged 11 to 15 are exposed to second hand smoke in cars each week. The charity, which conducted analysis on official NHS data, said that 185,000 children of the same age are exposed to smoke while in the family car on "most days", if not every day.

Electric Porsche Boxster being developed

Porsche are developing and electric Porsche Boxster It’s not exactly a surprise that Porsche has announced its intention to develop an electric roadster based on the Porsche Boxster, after all – as part of VW – they have access to an awful lot of technology and they’d be foolish to let car makers like Tesla or Fisker potentially steal some future Porsche glory. So starting early next year – as part of a programme Porsche call Modellregion Elektromobilität – three electric Boxsters will be out and about with their electric powertrains in the real world to give Porsche feedback. Porsche are making it absolutely clear that this rolling lab for an electric Boxster is entirely complimentary to – and in no way undermines – their hybrid programme, which includes the Panamera and Cayenne Hybrid and the Hybrid Hypercar that should soon become the production Porsche 918 Spyder.