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Lexus GS 300h: Shanghai Motor Show

Offering much better economy than the GS 450h, it offers not only a viable alternative for private buyers looking for a bit of beautifully built Japanese luxury with lower running costs, but also makes the GS a much more appealing option for company car drivers – probably where most of the sales will be made. Lexus are aiming for Co2 emissions below 110g/km for the GS 300h (the IS 300h manages 99g/km) which will give headline economy around 60mpg – a third better than the GS 450h can manage. Power comes from the same hybrid drivetrain as the IS 300h, which means a 2.5 litre petrol mated to an electric motor and delivering 215bhp and o-62mph in around 8.5 seconds.

Used cars 'getting cheaper'

CONSUMERS holding on to their motor for longer are driving down the cost of used cars, according to new research. The average price for a second-hand car in July-September 2011 was £8,870 - a 2.4% decline compared with the same period a year ago, according to the Auto Trader company. It is the first time the price has dipped below £9,000 since the company started tracking the market in January 2010.

Turin Dream Exhibition

The 'Dream' exhibition currently taking place at the Giovanni Agnelli Pavilion Esposizioni in Turin is a stroll through almost 60 years of creativity, which convinced the world of carmakers - and consumers - to accept new stylistic features; demand greater performance and safety; and to create new ways to adapt car interiors to the many demands of business and leisure. One of the main events commemorating Torino 2008 World Design Capital, there are 54 one-off examples and three-dimensional objects on view in the 12 galleries, piazza and atrium, including projects from local design schools Instutito Europeo di Design (IED) and the Istituto d'Arte Applicata e Design di Torino (IAAD). IED is showing two projects created by students on its post-graduate course in Transportation Design: the Fiat Panda from 2007 and the 2008 BMW ZX6 - a thesis project created selected as the main photo of the exhibition.