94 Mustang Cobra Cruise Contro on 2040-parts.com

More drivers opt for speed awareness course

Drivers caught speeding are now more likely to take a driver education course than accept points on their licence, according to the latest government statistics. 953,428 motorists took a speed awareness course last year – a hefty increase over the 500,000 that took part in 2010. New so-called ‘stealth’ speed cameras: don’t panic “Black box” drivers hit by speeding fines from insurers This is partly down to the rise in speeding fines from £60 to £100 – taking a speeding awareness course usually costs around £85 (depending on the area), which means it’s now less rather than more than the cost of a fine.

VW Passat Alltrack 4motion (2012) goes on sale

Volkswagen is launching its own cut-price rival to those mud-loving Allroad models from Audi in May 2012 – the new Passat Alltrack 4motion. It's a Passat estate in a Barbour and green wellies, its ride height hoiked up and with 4motion all-wheel drive boosting traction for soft-roading and pulling horseboxes over slippery grass. VW quotes a two-tonne towing capacity – 200kg greater than an equivalent Passat estate.

CAR tech: why Porsche needs hybrids

At the launch of the 997-generation 911 Turbo in 2006, Porsche faced a daunting future. Anti-car chatter from EU legislators proposed banning anything that produced more than 241g/km of CO2 and exceeded 101mph. ‘We’ll have to close if the European Commission decides that every carmaker must reach [these targets],’ a Porsche exec told CAR.