2018-2020 Hyundai Sonata Kia Optima Hybrid Battery Pack Assembly 201906071911om on 2040-parts.com

Call for reform over road repair funding

FUNDING patterns mean most road maintenance is being carried out in "less-efficient, cold and wet" times, a report from a Government spending watchdog has said. The current pattern of funding, combined with the need to spend money within the financial year, means that most maintenance work goes on between September and March, said the report from the National Audit Office (NAO). It went on: "Although this is less disruptive for road users, it is less efficient than carrying out the work at other times of year because materials can be more difficult to handle in cold and wet conditions, and daylight hours are shorter." The report went on: "As a result of the additional funding for emergency repairs, which is made available at the end of the financial year, almost all highways authorities need extra capacity from the market at the same time, which makes it less likely that they will get value for money." The NAO report said there was a "lack of predictability" over road spending adding that historically, local highway authorities spent more revenue on maintenance, but were now carrying out fewer routine activities such as clearing gullies which are essential to preventing water seeping into roads' sub-structure.

GM posts wider loss, burns through $5.2 billion in cash

General Motors, battered by a global economic collapse and buoyed by U.S. rescue loans, posted its sixth straight quarterly loss and burned through $5.2 billion in cash as revenue shrank by more than a third. The net loss of $9.6 billion in the fourth quarter compares with a loss of $1.5 billion a year earlier.

Le Mans 24-hour race 2010: CAR's guide to the classes

This year, teams are split into two categories: Prototype and Grand Touring. The former are cars created specifically for endurance racing, the latter are homologated from road cars. Each category is then split into two further disciplines – one a higher performance grade, the other slightly lower.