2012 European Car of the Year shortlist announced

The shortlist for the 2012 European Car of the Year award has been announced today. There were 35 cars on the original list, but the first round of voting from the 59 jury members (including CAR Magazine’s editor Phil McNamara, and our European correspondent Georg Kacher) has whittled the list down to just seven. They are… • Citroen DS5• Fiat Panda• Focus Focus• Opel (Vauxhall) Ampera/Chevrolet Volt• Range Rover Evoque• Toyota Yaris• Volkswagen Up There will now be a second round of test drives, before the European Car of the Year jurors submit their scores and a winner is announced live at the Geneva motor show on 5 March 2012.

Audi prepares a topless R8 GT

With production of the high-performance R8 GT getting under way, Audi is preparing a convertible version of the car. The German automaker released sketches of the R8 GT Spyder on Monday. A full debut is likely at the Frankfurt motor show in September.

Government Highlights 'Snowball Effect' Of Drink-Driving

MILLIONS of people could lose their jobs if they were unable to drive to, or at, work through being caught drinking and driving. That’s the message behind a new Government drink-driving campaign in advance of the festive season. Keen to highlight the "snowball effect" of getting a drink-drive conviction, the campaign is hoping to register with individuals who need to be mobile for their profession, such as professional driving jobs, teachers, care workers and jobs in banks and finance.