Mercedes C-class shown

By Tim Pollard Motor Shows 09 March 2007 01:08 Mercedes Vision C220 Bluetec: the lowdown Mercedes' bigger, better and cleaner new C-class hogged centre stage at the DaimlerChrysler stand. The C is the bedrock of Merc's range and the company rolled out a slew of derivatives to mark the occasion - including the Vision C220 Bluetec, the first four-cylinder diesel with Merc's clean-breathing tech. Vision is a tag for Stuttgart's concepts that are a dead cert for the showrooms, so expect something very like this soon.

Driving licence costs to be cut by almost a third

The cost of a driving licence is going down Actually the cost of applying foe a driving licence is a drop in the ocean compared with just about every other motoring cost, but the news that the Government are planning to cut the cost of anything is always welcome news. The Roads Minister, Stephen Hammond, has announced that the Government is planning to cut the cost of applying for your first driving licence from £50 to £34 if you process your application digitally and by 15 per cent if you do a paper application. That will also see the 10 year renewal of photo licences fall from £20 to £14 and driver tachograph card – for commercial drivers – will also drop from £38 to £32.

Audi showcases bright future

AUDI IS to showcase new front lighting technology that uses super-powerful laser diodes just a few thousandths of a millimetre in diameter. But at the same time, the tiny diodes are claimed to be able to light the road ahead for an incredible 500 metres. That gives the technology about double the reach of today’s best LED headlights, with around three times as much overall light output.