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Mandelson to announce help for car makers

Lord Mandelson is the man charged with finding ways to fund UK Car purchases (yes, he of the dodgy mortgage debacle – at least he should know a few tricks!) as the credit crunch has dried up funding, leading to an unprecedented drop in new car sales in the UK. Mandelson is due to make a statement in the Lords just after 3pm today, outlining the help the government is going to offer to ailing car makers. Central to this package is expected to be a funding channel directly from the Bank of England to inject liquidity in to the car financing sector.

Bentley's new boss confirms SUV back to drawing board

Bentley's new chairman and CEO, Dr Wolfgang Schreiber, confirmed today that the EXP 9F - the controversial SUV shown at the 2012 Geneva motor show - would be heavily redesigned before going on sale. CAR greeted the EXP 9F with the headline 'I'm a Bentley designer, get me out of here' in our Geneva show issue. Ironically, head of design Dirk van Braeckel, has subsequently moved to a different department within the VW Group.

2013 Ford Escape can tow 3,500 pounds with EcoBoost engine

The 2013 Ford Escape, which we saw at the Detroit auto show in January, will have a towing capacity of 3,500 pounds when equipped with the 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine, Ford said on Wednesday. That number easily bests four-cylinder-equipped competitors such as the Volkswagen Tiguan, the Kia Sportage and the Acura RDX. Ford says the new engine will make enough power to pull two jet skis down to the lake with a trailer, or to drag a snowmobile to the frozen tundra.