Porsche uses phone-formatted bar codes to connect with customers

Porsche is harnessing the power of smartphones, using Microsoft Tag bar codes to provide dealership customers with unique information about the cars they're looking at. Buyers can scan the square stickers with a properly equipped phone, and the application will take them to dedicated microsites where they can see stats, videos and pictures of the car, along with audio clips of a flat-six engine revving up. Through the microsite, buyers can provide contact info for a follow-up call from Porsche salespeople.

Vauxhall Ampera price cut by £3,500

The Vauxhall Ampera (pictured) drops in price by £3500 Although we still feel the range-extender is the right way for car makers to go to get the car buying public to accept EVs, the range-extender Vauxhall Ampera has not exactly been a runaway success. Despite Vauxhall offering potential Ampera buyers the option of trying it for 30 days and handing it back if they don’t like it, the Ampera has failed miserably to sell in any sort of volume. So, with new competition on the way from the range-extender BMW i3, Vauxhall are taking drastic action to try and tempt buyers in to the Ampera and are slashing prices by £3,500.

Ferrari 458 Italia Revealed

The first pictures of the new Ferrari 458 Italia These are the first pictures of Ferrari’s 458 Italia, released this morning ahead of the official reveal at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. Clearly showing influences from the Enzo and the Mille Chille Concept car, the F430 replacement will undoubtedly go upmarket in terms of price to differentiate it from Ferrari’s entry-level car, the Ferrari California. Featuring a new, 4.5 litre V8 (hence the name – 458) , Ferrari claim the new engine has the highest specific output of any normally aspirated road-car engine, which is a hard claim to dispute as it produces 127bhp per litre.  It produces 562bhp at 9000 rpm, making it the highest revving Ferrari engine to date.