AA celebrates 25 years of female patrols

ON SEPTEMBER 12th 1998 Georgina King became an overnight celebrity as she became the first female patrol to join the AA. Georgina says: "I was introduced at a press conference in Leicester Square and my picture ended up in all the papers. When I met customers out on the road they were a bit surprised to be confronted with a woman.

New Mercedes SL 400 replaces SL 350

The new Mercedes SL 400 (pictured) replaces the old SL 350 It’s a little over two years since the latest Mercedes SL arrived, and Mercedes has now decided to add a little zest to sales by dropping the old SL 350 and replacing it with a new Mercedes SL 400. The new SL 400 gets its power from the new E400 which means a twin-turbo 3.0 litre V6 with 328bhp and 354 lb/ft of torque – 26bhp and 81 lb/ft more than the old SL 350 – enough to let the SL 400 scoot to 62 mph in 5.2 seconds – 0.7s better than the 350 -= and on to a limited top speed of 155 mph. The new SL 400 has to make do with Mercedes tried and tested 7-speed auto – despite a new 9-speed now being available in Mercedes’ arsenal – which gives the SL 400 official economy of 38.6 mpg and emissions of 172g/km – not that you’ll come close in the real world.

Nissan Juke gets revised 1.5 dCi diesel engine

The best selling Nissan Juke n-tec gets a revised 1.5 diesel engine. The Nissan Juke – the funky little urban SUV – has been around for three years, and its combination of rugged looks that make it look like an armoured insect, high riding stance and decent economy have made it a popular buy as a compact urban warrior. More than 19,000 Jukes have been sold in the UK since it launched in 2010, and around a third of those have been powered by Nissan’s 1.5 litre diesel engine.