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Frankfurt Motor Show 2009 Preview

The Frankfurt Motor Show 2009 runs from 17th -27th September to the public Many of the Japanese makers will be conspicuous by their absence, but that should be more than made up for by the launches from the big European makers. And of course the Koreans – in the guise of Hyundai and Kia – will do what they’re starting to do in the market place and fill the gap left by the Japanese. You can already check out all the stories in one place for The Frankfurt Motor Show 2009, but we thought we’d highlight a few of the cars we know are making an appearance, in case you’ve missed them in the last few weeks.

Call for reform over road repair funding

FUNDING patterns mean most road maintenance is being carried out in "less-efficient, cold and wet" times, a report from a Government spending watchdog has said. The current pattern of funding, combined with the need to spend money within the financial year, means that most maintenance work goes on between September and March, said the report from the National Audit Office (NAO). It went on: "Although this is less disruptive for road users, it is less efficient than carrying out the work at other times of year because materials can be more difficult to handle in cold and wet conditions, and daylight hours are shorter." The report went on: "As a result of the additional funding for emergency repairs, which is made available at the end of the financial year, almost all highways authorities need extra capacity from the market at the same time, which makes it less likely that they will get value for money." The NAO report said there was a "lack of predictability" over road spending adding that historically, local highway authorities spent more revenue on maintenance, but were now carrying out fewer routine activities such as clearing gullies which are essential to preventing water seeping into roads' sub-structure.

Toyota, Lexus cars recalled to fix brake leak

Toyota is recalling more than 1.5 million cars around the globe for brake and fuel-pump problems. This now brings Toyota's recall tally to more than 14 million vehicles around the world in the last year, many for unintended-acceleration issues. So what does this mean for you?