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Volvo Group plans wirelessly charged bus line

There's one bit of futuristic transportation technology that seems to get trotted out almost as often as autonomous cars, electric cars and flying cars: Inductive, or wireless, charging for city buses. It's not as sexy or as memorable as the perpetually out-of-reach commuter-grade Harrier jet, but it uses proven technology (GM's EV-1 uses inductive charging, as do electric toothbrushes) to save or eliminate fuel and to reduce emissions. And unlike the flying car, induction-charged buses are hardly fantasy: They've been used in European cities for over a decade, South Korea started testing a fleet last year and Utah got in on the act recently.

Mercedes E300 BlueTEC Hybrid gets 65.7mpg & costs £39,645

Mercedes-Benz has revealed that the Mercedes E300 BlueTEC Hybrid has official fuel consumption of 65.7mpg and will cost from £39,645. There’s no denying that the Mercedes E 300 BlueTEC hybrid is a very clever car, and that it ‘Games’ the daft company car BIK rates to perfection. It’s entire reason to be is to drive down official fuel consumption figures to garner the most benefit possible from company car taxation, and in that it succeeds very well.

Lada 'ready to sell in Western Europe by 2013'

Lada is set to relaunch in western Europe - including the UK - by 2012-2013 to counter the threat of Chinese car makers, senior sources admitted last night. Renault's global marketing senior vice president, Stephen Norman, told CAR that Renault-Nissan's stake in Russian firm AvtoVaz would help bring about the return of Lada to Britain. 'The UK is one of the few markets where Lada was a success,' said Norman.