Holly Carberator on 2040-parts.com

Road drainage problems increasing

ROAD DRAINAGE during the mid-summer heatwave was no better than in the early-year floods, according to 40% of drivers. A further 9% said drainage in June was even worse than during the winter downpours, the AA/Populus survey of more than 18,000 AA members showed. Most dissatisfaction with the state of the roads in mid-summer was shown by drivers in Yorkshire and Humberside, with 46% of them reckoning drainage was no better than during the winter.

CAR Most Wanted of 2014: Ferrari 458 Speciale

By the CAR road-test team First Official Pictures 23 December 2013 10:50 The first time we checked out the Ferrari 458 Speciale, it was parked tantalisingly in the bowels of the Ferrari’s Maranello factory. Tech boss Roberto Fedeli told us how Ferrari had calculated the Speciale would be an even higher performer: 10% lighter, 11% faster response, 40% quicker through the gearbox, and squeezing out an extra 34bhp from its 4.5-litre V8. Since then, we’ve driven the 202mph 458 Speciale, which Ferrari claims is different (not better than) a 458 Italia, and designed to appeal to a different kind of customer.

Jaguar XF Sportbrake Price & Model lineup plus new XF engine options

The Jaguar XF Sportbrake will cost from £31,940 and the XF saloon will  get the new V6 Supercharged 3.0 litre engine for 2013. It’s taken quite a while to get a Jaguar XF Sportbrake price from Jaguar’s bean counters, but they’ve finally decided the entry price for an XF Estate will be the XF Sportbrake 2.2 Diesel SE Business at £31,940, rising to £51,505 for the XF Sportbrake 3.0 Diesel S Portfolio – a premium of around £2.5k for the shed on the back. The XF Sportbrake gets a choice of two versions of the new 2.2 diesel – a 163PS and 200PS (which takes the place of the original 190PS version) – and two versions of the 3.0 litre diesel – 240PS and 275PS – all of which will also be offered in the 2013 XF saloon.