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Vauxhall-designed Santa's sleigh (2009)

Vauxhall's version of Santa's sleigh – complete with Voltec plug-in hybrid tech By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 14 December 2009 20:11 Here's the Vauxhall take on the design project we've set them this Christmas: to design a Vauxhall-branded Santa's sleigh. The boffins at Vauxhall/Opel design HQ have come up with this – a development of the latest GM Europe form language with hints of new Astra here and Ampera plug-in hybrid there.Vauxhall officials claim their Christmas sleigh features specially adapted E-REV tech to ensure Santa has no range anxiety as he flies around the world on Christmas Eve. Very zeitgeisty.'Santa's pleased as punch because he doesn't need to worry about the methane emissions generated by the outgoing reindeers on his 2008 model,' said a spokesman, while munching mince pies and throwing Magna crackers on the log fire.

April car sales in a nutshell: The year's 2nd-strongest month

Here are highlights from April's U.S. auto sales report: Industry rises 20 percent Overall U.S. sales rose 20 percent in April to 982,302 light vehicles, a gain of 162,610 over the same period a year ago.

Toyota & Lexus: Hybrid sales in Europe hit 20%

The ‘Green’ evangelists want to get us all driving electric cars to save the planet, but in the real world car drivers want a car that offers them all the practicality of a normal ICE car, but without the penalties of the poor range, high cost and inconvenience of an EV. So, with ever-rising fuel costs, it’s no wonder car buyers are willing to pay a little more for a car that offers better economy at the pumps – which plays straight in to the hands of Hybrid pioneers Toyota. The result is that Toyota and Lexus now see a full 20 per cent of their sale in Europe being hybrid cars in the first quarter of 2013, with sales of hybrid cars up a massive 82 per cent year-on-year.