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Budget hits gas-guzzlers

By Ben Pulman Motor Industry 03 June 2007 02:00 Gordon Brown’s budget didn’t throw up too many surprises; after all, we expected him to take more money out of the motorist’s pocket. Below are the changes due over the next three years. An increase of 2p per litre this year, 2p in 2008-09, and 1.84p in 2009-10.

Renault Twizy gets the Formula One treatment

Renault has applied the state-of-the-art kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) used in its Formula One drivelines to the pint-sized Twizy electric car. The result? A new zero-emission concept whose claimed 0-62-mph acceleration time matches that of the French carmaker's fastest production car, the RenaultSport Megane 265, at 6.0 seconds.

Volt, Leaf win top safety rating in crash test

The 2011 Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf electric cars won the highest safety ratings in crash tests performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, putting them in the top 57 percent of models tested so far this year. About 80 of 140 vehicles tested among 2011-2012 models have received the Institute's "top safety pick," the group's award for state-of-the-art crash protection that exceeds federal safety rules, Institute spokesman Russ Rader said. The Volt and Leaf received a "good" rating -- the highest of four rankings -- on each of four crash tests, said the Institute, which is funded by auto insurers including State Farm, All-State and Geico.