2005 Mazda Tribute 42025 Miles Steering Column 906279 on 2040-parts.com

UK new car average CO2 now under 140g/km

UK motor industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) claims 56% of new cars sold in the UK during 2010 boasted carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions figures below 140g/km. New car emissions of CO2 continued to fall at an increased rate year-on-year, dropping 3.5% over 2009’s figures and representing a cumulative drop in new car CO2 emissions of 20.3% since 2000.  The data comes from the release of the SMMT’s annual New Car Carbon Dioxide (CO2) report for 2011, out today. UK vehicle fleet CO2 continues to fall The presence of lower-polluting new vehicles in the overall UK vehicle parc (the total fleet of new and existing vehicles on the roads) has driven parcwide CO2 levels down 7.8% since 2000, and 2.7% since 2009.  This is partly thanks to new vehicles, and also due to reduction of higher-polluting vehicles via legislation and scrappage incentive schemes. The overall reduction also comes in spite of an increased number of vehicles on the road, and greater average distances travelled compared to 2000. Diesel’s rise continues One notable trend has been market penetration of diesel-powered cars. In 2000 petrol powered cars held 85.9% of the market, with 14.1% diesels.

Maserati SUV & two new Maserati Quattroportes confirmed

'Baby' Maserati Quattroporte Maserati are about to be the recipients of some of the benefits (if you care to see them as such) of the input of Chrysler, with a Maserati SUV and two new Quattroportes planned to replace the current Maserati Quattroporte over the next few years, thanks to the availability of Chrysler’s platforms and engines. Revealing plans to increase Maserati sales almost ten fold – from under 6,000 a year to over 50,000 – Sergio Marchionne has said Maserati will introduce two new cars to replace the ageing Maserati Quattroporte. It’s felt that the current Quattroporte falls between two stools – it’s too big to be a proper drivers car and too small to be a proper chauffeur car.

Peugeot 208 Hybrid FE (2013) at Frankfurt motor show

Here’s Peugeot’s salvo in the fight to make cars more economical: the 208 Hybrid FE. The supermini concept can achieve a claimed average of 112mpg (and a maximum of 141mpg), and emits only 49g/km of CO2. Peugeot is especially keen to point out it’s a conventionally shaped supermini with five seats, unlike VW’s own super-frugal XL1, which looks decidedly sci-fi in comparison, but has a smaller boot than a Ferrari 458… The 208 FE is 25% slipperier and 20% lighter than a regular 208, but that’s only part of the reason it allegedly achieves such eye-opening numbers at the pumps.