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Phones topple tailgating as most hated driving habit

THERE’S a new ‘hate’ at the top of drivers’ lists, after a study from Kwik Fit showed that using a phone at the wheel has overtaken the long-standing bad habit of tailgating. Talking or texting while driving is hated by 47% of drivers, according to the research; comfortably ahead of tailgating on 42%. It’s the first time that following too closely has been knocked off its seriously irritating perch in years.

Alfa Romeo MiTo (Cloverleaf) Quadrifoglio – Frankfurt catchup

The Alfa MiTo Cloverleaf unveiled at Frankfurt The MiTo Cloverleaf gets a hot version of the Fiat 1.4 Multair engine, producing 170bhp and mated to a new six-speed ‘box specially designed to deliver swift gear changes. For some reason Alfa hasn’t released performance figures for the Quadrifoglio, but it should be pretty competitive. Fuel economy is distinctly reasonable at an average 49mpg.

Pioneer App Radio officially unveiled

Pioneer has officially unveiled the App Radio that AutoWeek told you about earlier this month. Now that it's willing to talk, Pioneer claims that the radio and audio system is "the first in-vehicle product designed to utilize the processing power, storage capacity, network connectivity and apps of the iPhone and iPod Touch as the primary source for its information and entertainment capabilities." That does sound a lot like what Mini Connected and, in a more platform-agnostic sense, Ford Sync are doing. Pioneer said it couldn't speak to the similarity of those systems, but Ted Cardenas, director of marketing for Pioneer's car-electronics division, briefed us on installation of the device and what Pioneer is doing to minimize driver distraction.