Audi supercars

By Ben Oliver 28 July 2008 12:35 Audi is the fledgling player in the supercar arena. Yes, it's shown numerous concepts over the years, but it wasn't until the 2007 R8 arrived that we could actually drive a supercar with Ingolstadt's four rings writ large on the grille. And what an effort: straight out of the box, the R8 has delivered a car with the poise of a 911 Carrera 4S with the ease-of-use of a Honda NSX.

BMW signs diesel-engine supply deal with maker of police cars

BMW has agreed to supply turbocharged diesel engines to Carbon Motors Corp. to power Carbon's purpose-built police cars. In a deal signed on Monday, Carbon ordered more than 240,000 units of BMW's 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder turbodiesel--the same engine used in the X5.

MPs call for parking charge reports

COUNCILS should publish annual parking-charge reports to show where revenue comes from and where it is being used, MPs said today. The use of parking charges and fines specifically to raise revenue was "neither acceptable nor legal" said Louise Ellman, chairman of the House of Commons Transport Committee. Launching a report by her committee into local authority parking enforcement in England, Mrs Ellman said: "There is a deep-rooted public perception that parking enforcement is used as a cash cow, so it's essential that local authorities apply stringent transparency." The committee said local authorities in England had a collective parking surplus in the hundreds of millions of pounds, but that the exact amount was subject to debate.