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NYC approves Ford Transit Connect for taxi fleet

New York signed off on the Ford Transit Connect to be used for taxi service, paving the way for the nation's largest city to begin switching to the small van in place of the aging Crown Victoria. The move was announced Thursday after a public hearing; New York joins Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago on the list of major cities that have approved the vehicle for taxi service. The Transit Connect (and Taurus sedan) is approved for use now, but a Nissan van will become the exclusive vehicle in 2013.

Call for reform over road repair funding

FUNDING patterns mean most road maintenance is being carried out in "less-efficient, cold and wet" times, a report from a Government spending watchdog has said. The current pattern of funding, combined with the need to spend money within the financial year, means that most maintenance work goes on between September and March, said the report from the National Audit Office (NAO). It went on: "Although this is less disruptive for road users, it is less efficient than carrying out the work at other times of year because materials can be more difficult to handle in cold and wet conditions, and daylight hours are shorter." The report went on: "As a result of the additional funding for emergency repairs, which is made available at the end of the financial year, almost all highways authorities need extra capacity from the market at the same time, which makes it less likely that they will get value for money." The NAO report said there was a "lack of predictability" over road spending adding that historically, local highway authorities spent more revenue on maintenance, but were now carrying out fewer routine activities such as clearing gullies which are essential to preventing water seeping into roads' sub-structure.

New Ford C-Max revealed

Ford has released first details of the new C-Max which will debut at Frankfurt Ford has released some detail of the new C-Max, which is the first car from Ford to use the next generation Ford Focus platform, and will come as either a five or seven seat car. Not only will the new C-Segment platform be used here in the C-Max, but it will also see use in not just the next generation Focus, but also in the eventual replacement for the Ford Kuga. The C-Max will very sensibly stick with the multi-link rear suspension that has given the current generation Focus such great driving dynamics, and it will also feature Ford’s 1.6 litre Ecoboost engine, which is equipped with a turbo and direct injection for improved economy and efficiency.