Vauxhall at the Paris motor show 2008

By Guy Bird Motor Shows 02 October 2008 16:31 The Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer bagged its world debut as an Opel-badged vehicle in Paris. Yet another well styled, curvaceous family estate in the vein of the Citroen C5, Ford Mondeo and Honda Accord, it begs the question: is the large boxy load-lugger now officially dead?   The curving roofline – with integrated rear spoiler to visually extend it even further – plus a much more shapely rear end consign the very square old Vectra estate to history. It also results in a decent-for-class 0.30 Cd drag coefficient.

Oldest production Bentley sold at Pebble Beach

The world's oldest surviving production Bentley was sold at the 2011 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The 1921 chassis number three – registered AX 3827 in the UK – was bought 90 years ago by Noel van Raalte for $1,895 (£1,150). It was sold in the Gooding & Co.

Chevrolet Volt leads satisfaction survey

The Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid has topped Consumer Reports' latest owner-satisfaction survey after its first year on the market. The magazine said 93 percent of respondents who own a Volt said they would definitely purchase one again, making it the highest-rated car in the annual poll. Two second-place finishers, the V8-powered Dodge Challenger and the Porsche 911, drew the most-favorable grade from 91 percent of buyers.