Cost of garage labour falling

THE AVERAGE labour rate at both franchised and non-franchised garages has fallen compared to 2012, according to new figures. An annual survey of 12,000 cases conducted on behalf of Warranty Direct has concluded that the average labour rate in 2013 is £74.70, a fall of 9.84% from £82.86 in 2012. Less encouraging is the overall trend of rising labour rates, with the average having increased by 33% over the last ten years.

Volkswagen Golf R 400 revealed – and it looks production ready

The VW Golf R 400 (pictured) revealed ahead of Beijing A few days ago we had a teaser sketch for the VW Golf R 400, a 395 bhp version of the Golf R, which we assumed would be nothing more than yet another uber-powerful Golf Concept. But with underpinnings largely taken from the production Golf R, and a fully functioning interior, this Golf R 400 looks more production ready than any Golf Concept before. The Golf R 400 still uses the regular Golf R’s 2,0 litre Turbo, but VW has managed to squeeze an extra 99bhp and 52lb/ft of torque to produce supercar-rivalling performance of 0-62mph in 3.9 seconds and a top speed of 174mph.

Cummins works on a 28-mpg diesel with V8 power for pickups

Cummins Inc. is developing a four-cylinder diesel engine aimed at giving full-sized, light-duty pickups the power of a small V-8 and overall fuel economy of 28 mpg. The project began in September using the Nissan Titan pickup, which is being used to test the engine, pickuptruck.com reports.