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Electric cars get a £500 million government cash boost – but will it get spent?

The new BMW i3 EV (pictured) will be subsidised until 2017. The subsidy of up to £5000 paid to buyers of electric cars has been with us for three years, but it hasn’t had much impact on EV sales and it did look like the government had decided to scrap it all together. But it looks like the coalition has allowed Nick Clegg to have his way with EV subsides in a move that will see £500 million injected in to promoting and supporting electric cars in the UK in the next few years.

Car April Fools Stuff: BMW lead the way

BMW went to town on creating an M3 pick-up as an April Fools joke Just as we did last year with car April Fool stuff, it seems to make more sense to do a roundup of what hilarious pranks the motoring world – renowned for its sense of humour – has conjured up this year for your mirth than to run separate stories. BMW M3 pickup: BMW had one of its jolly japes for this year spoilt somewhat when spy shots of an M3 pickup were taken at the Nurburgring. But sources at BMW admitted it was part of a April Fools Day plan.

The fall and rise of the budget car

Twenty years ago, the classic bargain brands like Lada seemed to be going the same way as the Soviet empire that spawned them. Woefully dated and badly made, only a weirdo would have bought a new Lada rather than a second-hand model from Ford, Vauxhall or VW. However, one of the big trends in the car industry today is the re-emergence of bargain cars.