Denso 143-2024 Air Filter on 2040-parts.com

German new car sales drop 11 per cent – pre-reg accounts for 33.5 per cent

New car sales in Germany dropped by 11 per cent in September with pre-reg cars accounting for over a third of all sales. That drop of 11 per cent in Germany is despite deep discount offers – an average of 12.2 per cent in September – with even the previously invincible Mercedes and VW having to offer discounts of up to €3k, despite which VW’s sales fell by 20 per cent in Germany and Mercedes by 12 per cent. What’s perhaps most interesting about the decline in car sales in Germany is the number of pre-reg cars sold (pre reg cars are cars registered by dealers to hit sales targets and then sold at a discount of up to 25 per cent).

New Ford Mondeo: Estate, Hybrid and 4WD

The 2013 Ford Mondeo will come as a regular five door and estate but there will also be a four wheel diesel and a hybrid option. We’ve already reported that the new Mondeo will get the 1.0 litre EcoBoost engine as an option – the first time any car in the D Segment has had such a small engine – but there’s more to the new Mondeo than just a headline little engine and an Aston Martin grill. As well as the frugal EcoBoost engine, Ford will also be launching their first hybrid in Europe with a Mondeo Hybrid boasting a 2.0-litre petrol engine with a 35kW lithium-ion battery to trim official emissions and consumption as much as possible.

Look, Ma, no hands and no feet in the BMW training car

Race-car drivers, you may soon be out of a job. Just as IBM built a computer that could beat humans at chess and even at Jeopardy, BMW has built a car that can beat your lap time. OK, the best drivers can still beat this car, but we can imagine a time when autonomous cars will handle all of our driving needs, even the competitive kind.