1983-86 Honda Magna V65 Vf1100c Rear Final Drive on 2040-parts.com

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.

NHTSA may investigate Grand Cherokees over fuel-tank fire hazard

The Jeep Grand Cherokee from the 1993 to 2004 model years may be investigated by federal safety regulators after a complaint that its fuel tank is an exposed fire hazard that may have contributed to hundreds of deaths. Last month the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety complained that the SUV's fuel tank extends below the rear bumper and is inadequately protected from crashes and rollovers. The vehicle's fuel filler neck also tears off in crashes, said the center's petition for an investigation and recall.

CAR interviews Ron Dennis on the McLaren MP4-12C (2009)

CAR interviewed McLaren Automotive chairman Ron Dennis for the November 2009 issue of CAR Magazine’s feature on the new McLaren MP4-12C supercar. Here are some of the out-takes from our interview – and video of Dennis talking us around McLaren’s new roadgoing supercar. ‘It’s understandable why people ask the question “why now”, but the answer to that question lies in the statistics of F1.