Saab on the road to independence

You’ve got to feel for Scandinavian car makers Saab and Volvo. Both swallowed up by big US car makers, and both now being abandoned in a vulnerable position after years of integrating their once independent products in to their parents infrastructure, they must wake up every day wondering if this is the day it all goes bang. Ford is simply trying (increasingly desperately) to off-load Volvo, but GM, which is in a much more precarious position than Ford, has now abandoned its Swedish child in a desperate attempt to appease Congress and survive.

2014 Porsche Panamera gets new hybrid

The Porsche Panamera has been restyled and the lineup gains a plug-in hybrid model, along with a new twin-turbo V6 for the Panamera S and 4S models that is more powerful than the former base V8. Also, Porsche is adding a stretched version of the Panamera with 5.9 inches added to the wheelbase for additional rear-seat legroom. The restyled Panamera goes on sale in the United States late this year as a 2014 model.

Lexus CT 200h F Sport arrives in the UK. Starts at £27,850.

Lexus CT 200h F Sport arrives in the UK It’s been a whole year since the Lexus CT 200h F-Sport hoved in to view with its add-on sporty bits and bobs, and now it’s finally arrived in the UK. In case you didn’t read the headline properly – or the original story – the CT 200h F-Sport isn’t a fire-breathing ‘F’ version of the Lexus take on the Prius, but is instead a ‘sportified’ version, with add on bits and a tweaked suspension. But despite the lack of extra horses, the CT 200h F-Sport does go part of the way to addressing the problems of the CT 200h.