Arias Pistons 12.5:1 Compression 82mm Bore Honda B-series on 2040-parts.com

Electric car range drops by nearly 60% in cold weather

Electric cars like the Nissan LEAF (pictured) can lose 60% of their range when it’s cold We already know that the range of electric cars reduces as the car ages, with Nissan conforming that the LEAF’s range will drop by up to 28 per cent over five years. And now we have confirmation that the ambient temperature can have a big impact on range too, thanks to the AAA, America’s equivalent of the AA. The AAA took three standard EVs on sale in the US - Nissan LEAF, Ford Focus EV and Mitsubishi i-MiEV – and subjected them to test in different ambient temperatures.

Mitsubishi i MiEV Electric car launches in Japan

Mitsubishi i MiEV electric car launched in Japan at around £20,000 Until now, electric cars have been very much an oddity. The laughable G-Whiz and the Tesla Roadster are interesting in their own way, but unless you want to look like Noddy’s best friend (G-Whiz) or are happy to have a second-rate Lotus Elise at three times the price (Tesla), there wasn’t much to appeal to the normal car buyer. But it’s changing.

Who's where: Jean-Arthur Madelaine-Advenier becomes Citroën's head of interior design

Citroën has appointed Jean-Arthur Madelaine-Advenier as its new head of interior design. The 34-year-old Frenchman joins the firm from Tesla, where he had a brief stint as lead designer for interiors at the US-company's California studio. Madelaine-Advenier graduated from the RCA in London in 2003, then headed to Mercedes' advanced studio in Italy for a three-year stint as a junior interior designer.