Euro NCAP latest results

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 19 December 2007 11:36 The latest round of Euro NCAP results are announced today, with another round of high scores from a range of superminis and family cars. But none of the cars tested could manage more than three stars for pedestrian protection. Daihatsu's Materia supermini and, surprisingly, the Honda Civic trailed the pack with only four stars for occupant safety, but the Merc C-class, Renault Laguna, Volvo V70 and – impressively – the tiny Mazda 2 all came out with the top score.

Subaru's new supermini

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 05 January 2007 02:52 Subaru is preparing a rebadged Daihatsu Sirion to slot beneath the Impreza in its range - and the new 'mini could be on sale as early as the end of this year. Toyota, Daihatsu's parent company, bought a 9% shareholding in Subaru's parent company in 2005. So the Daihatsu Sirion 1.0 is an obvious donor car; its £7500 starting price and 57mpg stretch the Subaru range down to a whole new budget marketplace.

Saab sale to NEVS delayed

The sale of what’s left of Saab to National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) has been delayed over funding and rights to the Saab name. We all thought, finally, that the end of the Saab saga had come when National Electric Vehicle Sweden was successful in gaining approval from the Saab administrators to acquire what was left of Saab after GM and Spyker failed to agree the sale of Saab as a going concern. The sad fact is that NEVS aren’t planning to carry on the proud tradition of Saab, with its innovative and quirky cars so loved by design professionals, but plan to put the Saab badge on a range of new electric cars.