Audi Oem 1k0253141h Exhaust Clamp/exhaust System Parts on 2040-parts.com

Bid to cut car insurance premiums

THE COMPETITION WATCHDOG is proposing to impose a cap on replacement vehicle costs following motor accidents as part of a clampdown to help cut premiums for all drivers in the £11 billion private motor insurance market. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the cap on charges passed to the insurer of the driver who is at-fault in an accident for the cost of providing a replacement vehicle to the non-fault driver, would "more closely reflect the costs incurred and remove significant inefficiencies". The watchdog has previously found that the "complex chain" of claim costs following an accident collectively inflates premiums by as much as £200 million a year.

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.

Infiniti fast tracks small diesel engines

Infiniti is fast-tracking new small diesel engines in the wake of the Daimler-Renault-Nissan partnership signed today in Brussels.Nissan's upmarket division will take supply of Merc's smaller four-cylinder turbodiesels - at a stroke thrusting it into the heartland of the executive sector. At present, it struggles to compete with its 3.7-litre V6 petrol only range of G saloons and coupes, and large-engined SUV crossovers. Sooner than you might think.