1963 Ford Galaxie 500 Cluster C3af-10841-aw on 2040-parts.com

Survey reveals in-car climate clashes

CLIMATE change isn’t just leading to arguments in politics – it’s causing heat in cars, too, because it seems men and women simply can’t agree on what temperature to set. A new study from Kwik Fit has revealed that 52% of couples whose cars have air conditioning argue over what temperature to set it at, and it’s usually men who want it cooler than their female companions. And as many as 250,000 drivers across the country say their air-con preferences are so different to their partner’s that they simply have to keep the system turned off to avoid bust-ups.

First details of new Volkswagen Golf revealed; GTi planned for Paris

Volkswagen has revealed the first details of its seventh-generation Golf--including a classy new interior--at a heavily cloaked press event ahead of the car's official unveiling in September in Berlin. The Golf, VW's perennial best seller, has raked in worldwide sales of more 29 million cars over 38 years of production. The new model, which is described as being up to 23 percent more economical than its predecessor, is planned to go on sale across Europe in November, replacing today's model, introduced in 2008.

New MINI 5-door Hatch revealed – but will you fit through the back doors?

The 5-door MINI hatch arrives We’ve already had the more BMW-like new MINI arrive, and now, for the first time, we get a MINI 5-door hatch to try and extend the appeal of the MINI range to families. The 5-door MINI gets an extra 72mm in the wheelbase and a pair of doors at the back – which do look very tight for full-size people to use – and there’s also an extra 15mm of headroom, a bigger boot and seating for three in the back. In terms of design, there’s little to choose between the 5-door and the 3-door, but the new 5-door does look a bit like the off-spring of the new MINI and the Countryman; just a little dumpy.