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VW Jetta (2011) first official pictures

This is the new, US-spec Volkswagen Jetta, and it’s part of VW’s plans to triple its annual sales in America to 800,000 units by 2018. And to help its cause, the VW Jetta no longer shares any body panels with the Golf, so the bold claim being made is that this new model is ‘just as independent as a CC or a Tiguan’. There are indeed strong family ties, and underneath the new Jetta is ultimately a Mk6 Golf.

Top Gear, Belfast and a Renault Twingo

Top Gear firing a Renault Twingo in to the sea in Belfast A couple of months ago we reported that Top Gear had upset Belfast with its filming antics for the latest series. To be fair, they didn’t upset Belfast as such, just a publicity seeking politician and a moron from FoE. All par for the course, we’d say.

Best Western Hotels rolling out EV charging points in the UK

We’re electric car sceptics – or at least sceptical about their ability to replace the ICE car as our principal form of personal transport – although EVs do have their place as runarounds in urban areas, where their limited range isn’t really a factor. But taking your EV off for a weekend jaunt does pose logistical problems when the average range is probably no more than 80 miles, and something worth making the effort for a weekend away is almost always going to be further away than that. But a bit of smart marketing by Best Western Hotels – a group of 270 or so independently run hotels round the UK – means EV drivers will soon be able to plot their weekend away on the basis of Best Western Hotels en route, with Best Western planning on fitting EV charging points in their car parks, with half their hotels having free charging points by September.