Deflecta-shield Duraloader 792100 on 2040-parts.com

Kia Provo upsets Northern Ireland

The Kia Provo Concept for a funky urban car has run in to trouble in Northern Ireland as its name evokes the Troubles. Looking like a Kia take on the Juke – although we think Kia see it more as a take on the MINi Countryman / MINI Paceman – it looks like a perfect direction for Kia to take with a ready market for butch little cars for blatting round town growing all the time. But you can’t please all the people all the time, and Kia has run in to trouble with the Provo already, as Unionist MPs in Northern Ireland have taken exception to the name.

BMW Concept Active Tourer – It’s the BMW B Class

The BMW Concept Active Tourer has been revealed ahead of the Paris Motor Show, previewing BMW’s new FWD direction. We recently had Mercedes roll out their take on the BMW 1 Series with the new A Class, and now the roles are reversed with BMW revealing their take on the Mercedes B Class with the BMW Concept Active Tourer. The BMW Concept Active Tourer is a preview of BMW’s front wheel drive future in the small premium sector, even if the Concept Active Tourer is notionally 4WD thanks to its a 67bhp electric motor driving the back axle in this hybrid setup.

New smart fortwo electric drive enters production

Mercedes has announced that the third generation 2012 smart fortwo electric drive has gone in to production. Mercedes may, very sensibly, be pursuing hydrogen fuel cells as the real future of motoring but they still have an eye on electric cars as urban runarounds. That urban EV takes shape as the Smart EV, and the third generation smart fortwo ED (electric drive) debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in March and has now gone in to production.