1981 Ford Mustang Dealer Sales-showroom Brochure Cobra, Ghia, on 2040-parts.com

Auto Trader launches new logo, unveils future plans

Auto Trader Auto Trader, Britain's biggest car classified selling site, today launches its new brand identity - as part of an ambitious expansion plan for the future. The previous logo had not changed in 37 years and was designed for the printed magazine, which ceased publication in summer 2013. Auto Trader, which is the provider of classified cars for sale to MSN Cars, is now a digital-only outlet.

Councils to cut roadworks red tape

COUNCILS in England could soon have the power to cut red tape and make road works much quicker and more accountable. The plan is to introduce permits for any company that wants to dig up a road, which means they will have to co-ordinate their work with other companies and local authorities to reduce the impact of delays on the public. The permit scheme could come into force as early as April 2015 and means anyone applying for a permit to carry out road works will need to present a convincing case for the work.

Car makers to be forced to disclaim ‘Official’ economy figures

We’ve banged on for a long time about the futility of official economy figures, especially as car makers get better and better at ‘gaming’ the official economy tests to produce the results they want. Much of the impetus to create the best headline economy figure for a car is driven by taxation, with car makers well aware that the better the official economy results are, the lower their CO2 will be (CO2 isn’t tested for – it’s just extrapolated from the official mpg) and the more appealing the car will be to buyers, particularly fleet buyers. But a ruling by the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) against Audi could at least see car makers having to admit in their adverts that the ‘official’ economy figure bears no relation to what owners can expect to achieve in the real world.