Carman Beedlock Aluminum Wheel Dirt Late Model Crate Model on 2040-parts.com

Diesel drivers 'pollution penalty'

DRIVERS OF DIESEL CARS could have to pay more in road tax or face additional levies to travel into city centres in an effort to tackle pollution, it is reported. Major cities around the UK are considering bringing in low emission zones to force out older diesel vehicles that are responsible for higher levels of fumes, The Times said. Almost all diesel vehicles driven into central London will trigger a £10 charge under plans being considered by mayor Boris Johnson, who will also reportedly lobby the Government to increase road tax on diesel cars to encourage motorists to move to cleaner vehicles.

BMW & Toyota agree joint development of new sports car

BMW and Toyota have signed a binding agreement to co-develop a new sports car and continue with co-developed and shared technology. The way forward for car makers seems to be either to be as big as possible for the benefits of economy of scale, or to work together on joint products to cut development costs. Which is why BMW and Toyota are getting cosy.

Audi R8 e-tron killed off for production – again

It’s more than six months since we reported that Audi were planning to kill off any production plans for the electric R8 e-Tron, with Audi’s head of R&D saying the production plans for the R8 were going to be scrapped. And it seems they have now gone in the bin. Autocar are reporting that Audi has confirmed to them that the R8 e-Tron won’t be going in to production and the ten latest e-Trons to be built will be used just for testing and development to help Audi with its ‘electrification’ plans, which will now almost certainly concentrate on plug-in hybrids and range extenders, rather than EVs.