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Ford tops Scrappage Scheme

Ford have made 14,000 sales under the Scrappage Sheme Ford – who are the biggest car seller in the UK anyway – are, not surprisingly, coming out on top in the Scrappage wars. They’ve managed to shift over 14,000 cars under the Scrappage Scheme in the last few months, and orders are coming in at the rate of 300 a day. Top seller is the new Ford Fiesta, with a healthy dose of Fiesta sales being the Ford Fiesta ECOnetic.

New techniques cut cost of carbon fiber

Carbon fiber, once so costly that it was the preferred material only for fighter planes and supercars, is catching the attention of weight-conscious automakers. Carbon fiber's cost is falling dramatically, thanks to production advances that let suppliers speed the material's finicky, and costly, curing process. One technological breakthrough that makes carbon-fiber auto parts more affordable may come from a process used to make carbon-fiber golf clubs.

Mini may drop Paceman, Coupe, and Roadster

Mini may discontinue the Paceman, Coupe, and Roadster models as it seeks to trim its lineup, following the introduction of the third-generation Mini Cooper three-door Hardtop. Instead, the company plans to focus on three "pillar" models: the Hardtop, the Countryman, and the Clubman. The third model, the Clubman, is technically still speculative as the company presented a Clubman only in concept form at the Geneva Motor Show last week, but given the amount of real-world testing of Clubman prototypes observed, coupled with the production-ready appearance of the Clubman Concept, this model is virtually assured to reach production in its current form.