1955 Chevy Grille on 2040-parts.com

London Congestion Charge: Buy 76-100g/km car NOW to get 3 years free of charge

Whether you think the London Congestion Charging Zone is a great way to clean up the air quality of the capital or just another way to tax motorists, you’re going to struggle even more to avoid it after the emission exemption levels are changed on 1st July so only cars emitting 75g/km CO2 or less will be exempt from the charge, Boris says the new lower level is necessary because car makers have worked their socks off to produce small diesel cars with the ability to hit the magic sub 100g/km emissions level in recent years, and that means London is suffering from air pollution as a result. The only answer, apparently, is to drop the limit to 75g/km or less to make those ‘dirty’ diesels pay their way. By reducing the limit to 75g/km you are effectively only allowing EVs and Plug-ins an exemption from congestion charging, thereby moving their emissions off to wherever the electricity they use is produced.

2012 Lexus GS 250 Guangzhou debut

2012 Lexus GS 250 debuts in China this week We’ve had the reveal of the 2012 Lexus GS 450h, and we’ve even reported on the US GS 350 and that the UK and Europe are to get an entry-level GS – the Lexus GS 250. But so far we’ve not had a proper reveal of the GS 250, just a bit of information and the assumption it’s a less powerful and less well-equipped version of the GS 450h. Which it is, and this week we get to see exactly what the entry-level GS offers with its public debut at the Guangzhou Motor Show in China.

Concept Car of the Week: Renault Racoon (1992)

As far as wacky concepts go, the Racoon surely has to be up there with the best of them. Designed and engineered like no other car before, the off-road and amphibious capabilities of the Racoon stretched automobile versatility to new levels. With its big eyes and smiley face, it has the same happy expression as its sister, the Twingo.