1958 Buick Super Riviera Roadmaster Front Fog Light on 2040-parts.com

Call for reform over road repair funding

FUNDING patterns mean most road maintenance is being carried out in "less-efficient, cold and wet" times, a report from a Government spending watchdog has said. The current pattern of funding, combined with the need to spend money within the financial year, means that most maintenance work goes on between September and March, said the report from the National Audit Office (NAO). It went on: "Although this is less disruptive for road users, it is less efficient than carrying out the work at other times of year because materials can be more difficult to handle in cold and wet conditions, and daylight hours are shorter." The report went on: "As a result of the additional funding for emergency repairs, which is made available at the end of the financial year, almost all highways authorities need extra capacity from the market at the same time, which makes it less likely that they will get value for money." The NAO report said there was a "lack of predictability" over road spending adding that historically, local highway authorities spent more revenue on maintenance, but were now carrying out fewer routine activities such as clearing gullies which are essential to preventing water seeping into roads' sub-structure.

Czech Car Maker Offers A Vision Of Its Future

SKODA has long since cast off its budget car image, but just in case you remain on the fence regarding the Czech firm’s premium market aspirations, it’s revealed a smart new concept car ahead of the Geneva Motor Show, called the VisionC. The five-door ‘coupe’ is said to be positioned in-between existing Octavia and Superb models, and has clearly been influenced by cars such as Audi’s A7 – another large, premium coupe-like model. As Skoda continues to grab a larger share of the market it’s also keen to steal buyers from existing firms selling ‘affordable premium’ models.

Concept Car of the Week: DeTomaso Zonda (1971)

Not satisfied in producing one of the most astonishing sports cars of the ‘60s with the Mangusta, Italian carmaker DeTomaso asserted its ambitions in 1970 by presenting an even more striking sports car, the Pantera, alongside the luxurious Deauville four-door sedan, both powered by the same Ford V8 engine. Those new gorgeous models were the work of Dutch-born Tom Tjaarda, then head of design at Ghia. Despite those amazing cars, the styling house was struggling to make a profit and that same year, Alejandro DeTomaso sold Ghia along with a large chunk of his company to Ford, which was looking for that exotic Italian touch.