Motoring News
23 December 2012Young people shift away from car ownership
US carmakers are concerned increased use of bikes, deferred driving licences and a move to cities by the young foreshadows a general decline in car use
read moreUS carmaker trio look to alternatives
General Motors, Ford and Chrysler are reacting to figures that show young people are delaying learning to drive and more are moving to city centres
read moreGeneva motor show: VW Jetta-rivalling Qoros GQ3 unveiled
China's answer to the VW Jetta will be the first in a series of models from Chinese start-up car maker
China’s newest car company, Qoros, has revealed its first model three months ahead of its debut at the Geneva motor show. The Qoros GQ3 is a C-segment saloon to rival the Volkswagen Jetta and will be sold in Europe as well as China.The GQ3 is the first in a series of models from Qoros, which will be unveiled at six month intervals. The Chinese company describes the GQ3 as having a “unique style matched by high quality materials and finish”, with a “spacious interior with high-spec infotainment as standard”.The car has been engineered to achieve a five-star rating from Euro NCAP for safety, and a similar performance in the Chinese equivalent.Former Mini chief designer, Gert Hilderbrand, heads the Qoros design team that is split between Munich and Shanghai.The GQ3’s low and wide stance is highlighted by its long wheelbase, a sloping roofline that blends into the C-pillars, and a width of 1839mm, one of the widest in the class. Alloy wheels of up to 19inches in diameter can be fitted to the GQ3.The GQ3’s front face will be rolled out across the rest of the Qoros line-up to create a family look. The triple eight-spoke standard alloys will be another Qoros hallmark.Qoros said the interior was comparable
read moreBrussels questions Peugeot rescue package
French government officials are adamant that the package is not direct aid in part because the carmaker will pay for the facility at the market rate
read moreTop 12 cars of 2012: Ford Focus ST
The latest performance car from the Blue Oval offers mega-hatch performance for the price of a VW Golf 1.4
The new Ford Focus ST wouldn’t have had to be good for it to stick in the mind. Fast Fords, teased from the firm’s vast machinations only sporadically, are event cars in Britain.No other brand of hot hatch, save the VW Golf GTI, extracts as much ink from us, and no other brand, save perhaps Renault, earns as much praise.The ST was different in that it wasn’t solely intended for the enthusiastic UK market. The car was largely developed in the US, and rather than throwing its considerable weight behind trick chassis items, Ford’s SVT division kept the Focus ST relatively simple and the costs small.The result is a £22k body blow to its rivals. For the same money that buys a new 1.4 TSI Golf, you can have a 247bhp ST that seats four and hits 62mph in 6.5sec and 154mph, yet managed 40.2mpg on our road test touring run.But figures, no matter how heart-warming, don’t do the Focus justice. Ford has cast its abilities wide, yet somehow managed to prevent them from spreading thin. Strong-willed but soft-edged is how we described it at our Britain’s Best Driver’s Car event (where it was the only front-wheel-drive model deemed wo
read moreFirst drive review: Porsche Cayenne GTS
Responsive and tactile, the Cayenne GTS is one of the best-driving SUVs anywhere
The Cayenne may already be one of the most sporting of all SUVs, but, Porsche being Porsche, there’s always room for an even more driver-orientated version, right? The new GTS version of the current Cayenne – driven for the first time on British roads – revives a formula that proved popular in the previous generation, slotting into the line-up between the standard petrol V8 S and the ballistic Turbo models with a more focused chassis set-up that promises to make it the best of the lot to drive.With a body kit that includes the Turbo’s big-intake front bumper and a sizeable roof spoiler, as well as blacked-out exterior trim, the GTS is as close to handsome looking as a Cayenne is ever likely to get, and unmistakably a Porsche when specified in a bright exterior colour with black wheels. Inside, the cabin is covered in leather and Alcantara with contrasting stitching, including the superb sports front seats, while the rear bench is shaped to seat two rather than three.
read more2012's most important news stories
A look back at the top 10 most popular news stories on Autocar.co.uk over the past 12 months
From the most powerful Ferrari in history to brand new Saabs being sent to the crushers by receivers, the car industry had enough big news stories in 2012 to stay firmly in the headlines in spite of a Diamond Jubilee and a home Olympics.Web traffic on Autocar this year has smashed all previous records, and below are your top 10 most viewed news stories outside of motor shows from the last 12 months.New Range Rover picturedThe new Range Rover was by far and away the biggest news story and most in-demand new car on the Autocar website this year (three of the top five most looked at news stories had ‘Range Rover’ in the headline). After frequent spy shots throughout the first eight months of the year gradually stripped away the camouflage and Land Rover bosses teased info on what was to come, the new Range Rover was finally officially seen at the Royal Ballet School in Richmond Park in August before its full reveal at the Frankfurt motor show in September.VW gets radical with new Mk7 GolfIntriguingly, it was the details of the Golf’s new MQB platform and engine line-up in February that was looked at more by Autocar readers than the full reveal of the car at the Paris motor s
read moreFord Ka unlikely to be replaced
End of the line for Ford's Ka city car due to lack of global compatibility
The Ford Ka is highly unlikely to see a third generation. According to Ford of Europe design boss Martin Smith, the city car “produces absolutely no profit” and doesn’t fit in with the firm’s global ‘One Ford’ ambitions.“It won’t pass a US crash test, it was designed too narrowly to suit European tastes and it’s only built in one place. It’ll get a light mid-life refresh but, as things stand, I can’t see a life for the car much beyond that,” he said.However, Smith did hint that there was a great deal of interest internally in a more diverse range of superminis that could be used to return Ford of Europe to profitability.“[Ford president and CEO] Alan Mulally’s favourite kinds of car of the moment are small cars with global reach that we can create a high yield from,” Smith said. “The Ecosport is the perfect example: it’s simple, cheap to make and could sell the world over.”
read moreWhat does Santa drive?
Space for presents and somewhere to put Rudolf's food are two of the requirements Santa has for a car. But what would he drive?
Not what would Santa drive. You see, Santa is as real to me as Sir Steve Cropley. I also reckon after all these years he is planning to give Rudolf and his mates a bit of a rest. If that concept is a bit hard to swallow for you ultra traditionalists, then maybe this is what he drives when he isn’t delivering prezzies.The only rule is, it has to be a secondhand car, or a well used classic, as I reckon Santa is a bit of a Bangernomicist.According to a younger member of my household Santa only needs two doors and it must, be a convertible, just like his sleigh. Most important of all though it has to be quick. So for that reason we can think along the lines of a Jaguar XKS. Mind you a Carrera 4 would be a tad more grippy at the North Pole. However, my gut feeling is that Santa has a proper old two door Range Rover. It’s a 1972 job so the road tax is free but the tailgate is obviously very, very rusty.So come on, let’s have a bit of fun at this time of the year and put me out of misery...so what does Santa drive.Oh and just in case you wondered, Steve Cropley and Santa have never, ever been seen in the same sleigh together...
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