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First Dacia Duster SUVs leave India bound for the UK

The first Dacia Duster SUVs built in RHD for the UK market left India this morning to help satisfy Renault’s growing order book for the Duster. With the sort of response the Duster has received in the UK – with prices for the entry-level Duster starting at just £9k – Renault are no doubt wishing they’d brought the Duster to the UK sooner. But such was the demand for the Duster in mainland Europe and emerging markets that they just couldn’t get production of RHD Dusters organised for the UK until now, when Renault’s plant at Oragadam, near Chennai in India, finally managed to satisfy its home market demand sufficiently to leave enough capacity for RHD cars bound for the UK and Ireland to roll off the production line.

Lack of history loses 20% of a car’s value

A CAR being sold without a full service history is worth one-fifth less on average than a car with a fully stamped service book. This amounts to an average of £1464 for the typical used car sold in the UK with a price of £7706. A study by Kwik Fit found buyers expect a 19% discount for cars with incomplete or no service history, which is costing the used car industry £10 billion per year in lost revenue.

MINI Clubvan: Debut at 2012 Goodwood Festival of Speed

The MINI Clubvan – a MINI Clubman with blocked out windows and no back seats – arrives as a production model and debuts at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The MINI Clubvan arrived as a concept at this year’s Geneva Motor Show, but there was no chance MINI were going to pass up the chance of filling yet another MINI niche, which makes it no surprise this morning sees the arrival of the production version of the Clubvan. Looking exactly like what it is – a MINI Clubman with polycarbonate panels over the back windows and no back seats – the MINI Clubvan aims to do for trendy delivery businesses what the MINI did for trendy Estate Agents - make their ubiquitous presence a real annoyance.