1996-2002 Dodge Viper Sct X3 Flash Handheld Tuning Device #3200 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.

'Crash for cash' scams soar by 51%

THE NUMBER of "crash for cash" car insurance scams uncovered by a major insurer surged by 51% annually last year. Aviva said it had detected around 820 staged accidents in 2013, leading to some 2,200 fraudulent personal injury claims. It is pressing for tougher penalties and said that often, rather than being locked up, fraudsters end up being sentenced to community orders, which "do little" to deter them from re-offending.

2012 Subaru XV Price announced

UK prices revealed for the 2012 Subaru XV Following a debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the 2012 Subaru XV is now ready to go on sale in the UK. Starts at £21,295. Subaru debuted the new XV Crossover at the Frankfurt Motor Show back in September, preceded by a rather pointless tease.