09 10 11 Lincoln Mks Xenon Oem Headlight Head Lamp on 2040-parts.com

Insurance interest costs motorists millions

BRITISH drivers are paying £682 million more than they should be for their car insurance by paying monthly. Most insurers charge a high rate of interest for the privilege of spreading payments out over the year, with the average pay-monthly customer hit by an additional £88. Almost a third of people (31%) pay their car insurance by monthly direct debit, market research from Consumer Intelligence has discovered.

BMW 7-series facelift (2012) first pictures

BMW has given the 7-series the mildest of mid-life facelifts for 2012 – with a series of cosmetic tidy-ups, fettled engines, extra kit and the UK's first hybrid 7-series. The ActiveHybrid7 isn't the most expensive 7-series (that's the 760Li at £101,805), but at £66,040 the petrol-electric saloon is some £8k pricier than the biggest-selling 730d. As the diesel is also cleaner and more economical, we suspect the hybrid Seven will remain a niche seller over here.

Jaguar XKR-S GT revealed (+ video)

Jaguar has pulled a surprise with the reveal of a more focused, and expensive, XKR ahead of the New York Auto Show – the Jaguar XKR-S GT. The XKR-S GT doesn’t get extra power – the XKR-S already has 542bhp – but it does get lots of tweaks to make it more able to use the performance it has. That means a new bonnet with more vents to improve cooling, a new carbon fibre front splitter, new rear diffuser, an aluminium undertray at the front, a whopping great spoiler at the back and bits of carbon fibre floating around.