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Vauxhall Ampera price cut by £3,500

The Vauxhall Ampera (pictured) drops in price by £3500 Although we still feel the range-extender is the right way for car makers to go to get the car buying public to accept EVs, the range-extender Vauxhall Ampera has not exactly been a runaway success. Despite Vauxhall offering potential Ampera buyers the option of trying it for 30 days and handing it back if they don’t like it, the Ampera has failed miserably to sell in any sort of volume. So, with new competition on the way from the range-extender BMW i3, Vauxhall are taking drastic action to try and tempt buyers in to the Ampera and are slashing prices by £3,500.

Volvo Flywheel KERS Hybrid cuts fuel consumption by 25%

Two years ago we reported that Volvo were testing a clever hybrid Flywheel KERS system for road cars and hoped it would prove to be a good way to make road cars more economical. And it seems it does. The Hybrid Flywheel KERS system Volvo has developed weighs only 6kg, has a diameter of just 20cm, is made of carbon fibre, sits in a vacuum and is located on the back axle and works by recovering energy under braking which is then stored for use when the car moves off.

Automakers scrap diesel plans

Mainstream carmakers have put the brakes on nine diesel-powered vehicles that had been scheduled for 2010. Honda, Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Nissan and Toyota have halted diesel programs because of spiraling costs and other problems. Financial problems halted the programs at some companies.