UK new car average CO2 now under 140g/km

UK motor industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) claims 56% of new cars sold in the UK during 2010 boasted carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions figures below 140g/km. New car emissions of CO2 continued to fall at an increased rate year-on-year, dropping 3.5% over 2009’s figures and representing a cumulative drop in new car CO2 emissions of 20.3% since 2000.  The data comes from the release of the SMMT’s annual New Car Carbon Dioxide (CO2) report for 2011, out today. UK vehicle fleet CO2 continues to fall The presence of lower-polluting new vehicles in the overall UK vehicle parc (the total fleet of new and existing vehicles on the roads) has driven parcwide CO2 levels down 7.8% since 2000, and 2.7% since 2009.  This is partly thanks to new vehicles, and also due to reduction of higher-polluting vehicles via legislation and scrappage incentive schemes. The overall reduction also comes in spite of an increased number of vehicles on the road, and greater average distances travelled compared to 2000. Diesel’s rise continues One notable trend has been market penetration of diesel-powered cars. In 2000 petrol powered cars held 85.9% of the market, with 14.1% diesels.

Chevrolet rolls out high-performance tires and wheels for the 2012 Corvette

The introduction of high-performance tires and racing-style wheels for the Z06 and ZR1 models is the major change to the Chevrolet Corvette for the 2012 model year, according to information being posted at Corvette fan sites on the Internet. Info is leaking out as Chevy is set to officially talk about the 2012 Vette during the annual C5/C6 Bash fan event at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Ky., this weekend. Look for some official news on April 28.

VW Tiguan R-Line Review

The Volkswagen Tiguan R-Line When VW called and asked us if we’d like a Tiguan R-Line for a few days to see what we thought, we had to ponder on which of us would test it. Unlike many ‘R’ VWs, the Tiguan isn’t endowed with more power. It doesn’t – for example – sport the nice meaty lump from the Golf R or even the mildest of power mods.