Toyota Prius gets sporty with the new Plus Performance package

No one is going to confuse a Toyota Prius hybrid with a sports car. But the Japanese automaker has released a styling and suspension package developed by Toyota Racing Development that gives the Toyota Prius a sportier look. The Prius Plus Performance package first appeared at the Specialty Equipment Market Association show in Las Vegas in November 2010.

Electric car sales DOWN 20% in 2012 – time to scrap subsidies for EVs?

The SMMT are reporting that sales of electric cars in the UK have fallen by 20 per cent in the year to date (2012). Despite every green evangelist proclaiming that electric cars are the way to save the planet from imminent doom, UK car buyers obviously disagree. Despite a taxpayer bribe of £5000 to buy an over-priced electric car, car buyers have not exactly taken to the EV in droves.

BMW Alpina D3 BiTurbo – a great diesel

The BMW Alpina D3 BiTurbo - a brilliant, quick and economical everyday drive Alpina has turned out some stunning versions of the BMW range over the years (and some not so stunning – their 8 Series springs to mind) and they fill a gap that is either not profitable in small volume for BMW or, in some cases, a hole that BMW hasn’t plugged. And this one is a good hole to fill with the BMW Alpina D3 Bi-Turbo, a 3 Series diesel with the heart of a hot hatch. Alpina has taken the engine out of the 1 Series 123d and given it a boost to 240bhp, in the process dropping the 0-60 time to a very creditable 6.9 seconds But it’s not the sprint that count,  but the way this peppy diesel unit delivers it.