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Demise of kei cars on the horizon?

The kei car has long been a staple of the Japanese automobile industry and its car culture. Too diminutive for Western markets, the tiny cars and trucks are a strong influencer of design in Japan. Now, as The New York Times reports, the Japanese government has hit kei cars with increases in sales tax, gasoline prices and has reduced the kei car tax break introduced to make the cars popular in the first place by 50 percent.

Europe trailing on ESP safety

NOT ENOUGH new cars in Europe are being specified with an electronic stability programme (ESP) that is proved to be most important safety system in prevent collisions. Research by Frost and Sullivan has found Europe is lagging behind North America, where there is almost 100% success with fitting news cars with ESP. Despite ESP being included in the European New Car Assessment Programme since 2011, the study shows there has been only a minimal increase in the number of cars sold that have ESP.

Renault Captur

Renault has unveiled its new Captur ahead of its official debut in Geneva. The carmaker's first urban crossover borrows many of the same design cues as the latest Clio - unveiled in Paris last year – such as the tapering headlamps, grille and low air intake. The fog lamps are now surrounded by stainless steel, which helps to frame the lower air intake.