European car sales crash

Renault saw its sales fall 23.7 per cent in February Car sales across Europe have fallen nearly 10 per cent in the economic gloom, with Renault, Peugeot Citroen, Fiat and Opel the big losers. There’s been a big decline in new car sales across Europe in February, with monthly sales down almost ten per cent compared to 2011, and it’s the mainstream car makers who are suffering the most. Sales for Renault are down by a massive 23.7 per cent to 86,402, Peugeot Citroen did almost as badly with a drop of 16.5 per cent to 118,381 and Fiat suffered the same percentage drop with sales of 66,249 (Alfa Romeo sales actually fell by 28.5 per cent).

Buick Enclave starts at $39,270 for 2013 model

The 2013 Buick Enclave SUV will sticker for $39,270 including $825 for destination and handling. For the new year, the Enclave gets a gentle styling redesign, more standard equipment and more safety technologies. The 2013 Enclave will have three equipment groups: “convenience,” “leather” and “premium.” All three will come with a good selection of Buick standard features, including a touch-screen radio, HID headlights, parking sensors, backup camera, remote start and a few other features.

Dodge Viper takes Nurburgring Record – sort of

Dodge Viper - new Nurburgring record Back in 2008, the Dodge Viper ACR went to the Nurburgring and proved that cars built in the former Colonies really can go round bends, even bends at the ‘Green Hell’ of the Nurburgring. Not only could the Dodge Viper go round bends, but it made a pretty good fist of blasting down the straights too, culminating in a record-breaking lap of 7:22.1. But since 2008 things have moved on, with even a Lexus LFA posting a ‘Ring time of 7:14.64, so the SRT has returned to the Nordschleife to set about squeezing a bit more out of the Viper.