Vintage Speedometer Instrument Panel Car Automobile on 2040-parts.com

Car ban hits drivers in polluted Paris

The French government has imposed a ban on driving cars in Paris to help reduce the growing pollution problem in the country’s capital that’s spiralling out of control. From today, Monday 17 March 2014, drivers with ‘odd’ and ‘even’ registration plates will only be allowed to drive in the city every other day respectively. This could cut the amount of traffic in the city by half overnight - although reports suggest many drivers plan to flout the rules and swallow the 22-euro fine for breaking the new regulations.

Toyota says Prius plug-in gets 65 mpg

Toyota Priuses with plug-in hybrid technology are averaging 65 mpg in combined gasoline and electric-mode testing. "That is real-world driving," said Bill Reinert, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A.'s national alternative-fuel vehicle manager. "I ask my guys to drive them as you drive your normal Prius." By comparison, the redesigned 2010 Prius, a parallel hybrid with nickel-metal hydride batteries, will have an estimated 50 mpg rating.

Redesigned Ford Focus expected to get 40 mpg on the highway

The redesigned 2012 Ford Focus will get an estimated 40 mpg in highway driving with an all-aluminum 2.0-liter engine mated to a six-speed, dual-dry-clutch automatic transmission. The normally aspirated engine combines variable camshaft timing and high-pressure direct fuel injection to crank out 160 hp and 146 lb-ft of torque. That compares with 140 hp and 136 lb-ft from the aluminum 2.0-liter engine used in the current-generation Focus.