00 01 02 03 Jaguar S Type R. Caliper Front Thru Vin M45254 on 2040-parts.com

Vauxhall: Ellesmere Port plant saved – 700 new jobs created

Vauxhall Ellesmere Port - Saved General Motors is to keep Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port open, move to three shift working and create 700 new jobs. The overcapacity of mainstream car manufacture in Europe as the market becomes ever more polarised between premium and budget cars – squeezing the middle – means car maker having to rationalise their output. Many thought that could mean the end of Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port as GM sought to stem its European losses (around £2 billion in the last three years), especially as it is easier to close plants and lay off workers in the UK than in mainland Europe.

Euro NCAP finds quadricycles had “severe safety problems”

Euro NCAP has branched out from cars and crash tested a small selection of “heavy quadricycles”  – small, four-wheeled vehicles that were originally developed from motorcycles that are sometimes also known as microcars, and don’t come under the usual car regulations. Although legal for use on the road, these machines do not need to achieve the same rigorous crash test safety standards as ordinary cars. But they are increasingly seen as a fuel-efficient urban transportation alternative, and some of them can be driven teenagers as young as 16.

Toyota Yaris Hybrid, GT 86 & new Toyota FT-Bh Concept at Geneva

Toyota's offerings at Geneva 2012 The Toyota Yaris Hybrid, Toyota GT 86 and a new compact city car concept – the Toyota FT-Bh – will be at the Geneva Motor Show next month. Toyota has a stand full of cars to offer at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, with the European debut of the GT 86, the Yaris Hybrid, and the world debut of a new concept – the FT-Bh Concept. We already know the price of the Toyota GT 86 – a starting point of £25k – and we’ve seen the photos, so now all that’s left is to see the GT 86 in the flesh.