2001 Pontiac Grand Prix Air Cleaner 1783791 on 2040-parts.com

£5000 electric car grants to cut a quarter off EV price

British motorists will qualify for grants lopping a quarter off the price of electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen cars – up to a maximum of £5000 discount – the Government confirmed this week. The Office for Low Emissions Vehicles, which launched six months ago, said the new grants would come into force from January 2011 as part of a £230 million low-carbon car incentive programme. Car buyers will qualify for the Plug-In Car Grant from an approved list of low-carbon cars.

Rolls Royce to set up shop in South America

Rolls Royce showrooms planned in South America The paradox of the current economic malaise  is that luxury goods – and luxury cars in particular - seem immune from the problems of the mainstream. Rolls Royce – to many still the epitome of luxury motoring – is doing very well, and is now planning an expansion in to South America. The cynical may say that Rolls Royce want a piece of the drug money floating round South America in their coffers, but South America is far more than a bunch of drug barons freely spending illicit cash.

Russo-Baltique Impression

One hundred years since its conception, the Russo-Baltique brand has been resurrected for a show car at Villa d'Este Concours d'Elegance. Once the maker of cars for Russia's Royal Court, the country's Revolution suspended Russo-Baltique's activities after the First World War, only restored in 2003 when work on the new Impression began. The car aims to demonstrate a high level of quality, using materials such as Zebrano, an African wood, to trim the interior.