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Used car sales return to pre-recession levels

As the UK’s buoyant new car sales figures continue to buck the European trend, it was only a matter of time before this had a positive knock-on effect on sales of used cars. Now, according to figures released in the latest BCA Used Car Market Report, used car sales hit 7.1 million last year, outpacing new car sales by 6.4% and, even more crucially, returning to pre-recession levels. Best used car buys for 2013 On Bing: see pictures of used cars In fact, a record £38.1 billion worth of used cars were sold in 2012, £5.8 billion more than was spent on new cars.

Green three-wheelers may get Energy Department funding

Aptera Motors, Elio Motors and other companies developing fuel-efficient three-wheeled vehicles got a boost from Congress this week in their quest for federal funding. Legislation to make three-wheeled vehicles eligible for Energy Department loans passed a conference committee of House and Senate leaders Wednesday and then got approval from the full House on Thursday. It is part of an energy spending bill likely to go before the Senate by next week for final congressional passage, a Senate aide said.

McLaren P1: Geneva Motor Show

The new McLaren P1 has been revealed publicly for the first time at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show where it goes up against LaFerrari. In contrast, McLaren has been busy trailing the P1 for months and had revealed all we really wanted to know ahead of today at Geneva. That garnered more column inches for the McLaren than the Ferrari in the run-up to Geneva but it’s meant that the actual public reveal of the McLaren P1 has been totally overshadowed today by the reveal of LaFerrari.