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Jaguar hybrid cars due in 2013-14

Jaguar will launch its own hybrid vehicles soon after Land Rover, CAR can confirm. Parent company Jaguar Land Rover is developing battery-assisted hybrid versions for both brands but its strategy puts part-electric Land Rovers first on the launchpad in 2013.Hybrid Jaguars – set to include the XJ and XF, but eventually every model – are therefore likely to be on the market by 2013-2014, using a similar eight-speed ZF hybrid transmission to petrol-electric BMWs.The staggered roll-out of battery Jags and Land Rovers makes sense: heavy 4x4s have come in the firing line from green protestors who label them Chelsea Tractors. Hybrid Land Rovers will trim emissions and – in plug-in hybrid mode – enable even big bulky Range Rovers to drive in zero-emissions mode into central urban areas emitting nothing more unsaintly than an electric whir.So which Jaguars will go hybrid first?It's likely that the largest models such as the XJ will receive the hybrid power packs first; large cars reap the greater benefit and can more easily swallow the additional cost, put at around £10,000 in today's money.JLR's Midlands engineering bases in Whitley and Gaydon now employ 100 engineers in the expanding hybrid powertrain business unit launched 18 months ago.

Holidaymakers Reminded To Make Pre-Easter Tyre Safety Checks

AHEAD of the Easter getaway, a leading tyre safety organisation is reminding the UK’s 650,000 caravan and motorhome owners about the importance of ensuring their tyres are in a safe, roadworthy condition before hitting the road. Stuart Jackson, chairman, TyreSafe, said: “For many, Easter is the first time of the year that they will be heading away in their caravan or motorhome. After the winter when they’ve often had little or no use, it’s essential that the vehicle’s tyres are checked thoroughly before use otherwise a number of potential safety hazards could bring an abrupt end a relaxing holiday.” As part of a visual inspection looking for obvious signs of damage such as lumps, bulges or cuts in the tyre, owners should also pay particular attention to signs of ageing.

Ford Verve Sedan, F150 (2008): first official pictures

By Liz Turner Motor Shows 13 January 2008 18:48 The Mustang Bullitt GT is the cherry on top, not of a cake, but a pile of bread-and-butter products at Detroit that could save Ford. The Blue Oval has unveiled an all-new mighty F150, a four-door US version of the Fiesta-sized Verve concept seen at Frankfurt and a range of turbocharged direct-injection petrol engines, dubbed EcoBoost. Derrick Kuzak, group VP for global product development, told CAR Online that to truly reduce emissions you need a mass-production solution people can afford, and EcoBoost doesn’t need all the expensive and complex after-treatments for NOx and particulates needed by diesel to meet US regulations.