Cadillac Srx 2004-2009 Weathertech Mats. on 2040-parts.com

VW Taigun Compact SUV heading for production

It was a good-looking and appealing effort from VW to tap in to the very compact SUV market, with a real family look (a Tiguan on a boil wash), peppy little 3-cylinder 1.0 litre engine delivering 108bhp and a 0-62mph of 9.2 seconds (with 60mpg economy) and enough room to carry stuff and people thanks to an extra 50mm in the wheelbase compared to the Up! Now it looks like the Taigun is heading for production after VW’s Chief designer, Klaus Bishoff, told Autoexpress that he deeply believed the Taigun would be heading for VW showrooms very soon, and could be sold in the UK and Europe as well as in emerging markets. So you can add the Taigun to the list of VW’s SUV offerings, and with new versions of the Tiguan and Touareg (perhaps based on the CrossBlue Concept) and a Polo based SUV on the way too, it looks like VW are covering all the bases.

Smart Forspeed Concept reveled

Smart Forspeed Concept - and the electric bike and scooter that will make production You’ve got to wonder if Smart is just a game for Mercedes. A bit like Maybach, except they keep churning out endless cars and concepts and editions and sales seem to go nowhere, instead of the Maybach way of keeping the same cars for a decade – and sales go nowhere. Last year in the UK Smart sales were down nearly 9% at a time you would expect sales of eco-focused small cars to boom.

CAR’s £1000 support for upcoming journalists – in honour of Phil Llewellin

The Phil Llewellin Student Journalist of the Year award will go to the best student writer from the motoring journalism courses at Coventry and Cardiff Universities. The winner receives £1000 and also a work experience placement at CAR magazine, whose pages were graced by Phil Llewellin’s work until his untimely death in 2005. Entries for the award, run by the Guild of Motoring Writers, must be received by 30 September, with the winner announced at the RAC Club in London on 5 December.