Learners' bizarre superstitions revealed

NERVES can have a crippling effect on learner drivers once they get to test day. Here, instructors with the AA Driving School recall particularly superstitious students whose desire to get their full licence resulted in carrying out unusual rituals: :: One pupil wore the T-shirt she had on when she gave birth to her daughter (now seven years old) and the trousers she was wearing before she conceived. :: A learner had failed three times due to nerves.

BMW set to debut diesel 7-series in the US

While Mercedes-Benz has let us Americans buy diesel versions of its flagship sedan from time to time, BMW has kept a number of versions of the 7-series from our shores, among which are 7-series sedans with diesel engines. Well, it looks like we'll finally be getting a diesel 7-series after all, with the arrival of the 740Ld later this spring. The 740Ld will be powered by a 3.0-liter inline-six diesel engine with a single turbocharger with variable vane turbine technology, making 255-hp and 413 lb-ft of torque, and will be coupled exclusively with BMW's xDrive all-wheel drive system.

Electric Rolls Royce Phantom EV 102EX at Geneva

The Rolls Royce EV 102EX - Geneva Debut Eighteen months ago we ran a story headlined ‘Electric Rolls Royce Phantom Coming?’ after the man from Goodwood let slip at the Goodwood Revival that Rolls Royce were looking at the viability of an electric Rolls Royce. Our first reaction was to throw our hands up in horror and declare it sacrilege, until we decided to ignore our preconceptions and prejudices and look at the benefits an electric motor could bring to a Rolls Royce. Benefits like absolute silence – long a Rolls Royce claim, rarely a Rolls Royce reality – and huge waves of torque that arrive let a Tsunami that never ends.