Toyota Auris Hybrid emissions cut to 84g/km

We’ve long believed that car makers better serve their customers by offering ‘Green’ options as add-ons to regular car models, and adding the hybrid option from the Prius to the Auris has seen Auris sales climb steeply whilst Prius sales drop off. There’s only so many buyers who want to shout their green halo from the rooftops, so incorporating green technologies in the regular range opens up far more possibilities for a sale. Now, with the Auris Hybrid sales growing by 69 per cent year on year in the UK, Toyota has had a play to make the Auris Hybrid even more efficient.

BMW 1 Series dead in US after 2013

With its successor set to bow at the Detroit Auto Show in a couple of months' time, word's come down from BMW that 2013 will indeed be the end of the line for the BMW 1 Series — at least in the US. It will remain available elsewhere in the world as a three-door and five-door hatch. The coupe and convertible, meanwhile, are being replaced by the 2 Series, in convention with BMW's new naming scheme.

2014 Volvo XC90 to get a raft of new safety technology

The 2014 Volvo XC90 (pictured) will get a whole raft of new safety technology We know that the Volvo XC90 will be replaced (finally) next year with a new XC90 using Volvo’s new SPA platform and powered by their new range of 4-cylinder, high efficiency engines. We’ve also got a clue or two about how the new XC90 will look thanks to a design exercise by Volvo’s designers in 2011 to create their vision of the next generation XC90. Now we get details of some of the technology we can expect in the new XC90 as Volvo works towards their target of making sure no one gets killed in a Volvo involved in an accident by 2020.