Enthusiast demand forces Aston’s hand: V12 Vantage coming America

Thanks to enthusiasts, the most powerful road-going Aston Martin ever is coming to the United States. The British sports-car maker confirmed on Friday that the V12 Vantage--packing 510 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque--will be sold in North and South America. This is a reversal from a year ago, when Aston tantalizingly showed off the car and promptly said it wasn’t coming here.

Second new London taxi of 2014 unveiled

LONDONERS had better prepare themselves for another new generation of taxi, just days after Nissan confirmed its own assault on the Black Cab market. The plug-in hybrid Fraser-Nash Range Extended Electric Metrocab is capable of more than 75mpg and less than 50g/km of CO2, and is expected to cost no more than a current Hackney carriage. The company says the vehicle could save cabbies £30 to £40 per day in running costs and can go longer between fill-ups.

Cycle-rail journeys 'almost triple'

MASSIVE increases to public transport network spending have led to the near-tripling of the number of ‘cycle-rail’ journeys taken since 2009, according to government statistics. An update on the coalition’s ‘door to door action plan’, published close to the New Year, details how huge increases in funding for secure cycle parking facilities and public transport integration have led to increased usage. The government is using the data to encourage more people to take up ‘greener’ ways of getting to work.