UK new car average CO2 now under 140g/km

UK motor industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) claims 56% of new cars sold in the UK during 2010 boasted carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions figures below 140g/km. New car emissions of CO2 continued to fall at an increased rate year-on-year, dropping 3.5% over 2009’s figures and representing a cumulative drop in new car CO2 emissions of 20.3% since 2000.  The data comes from the release of the SMMT’s annual New Car Carbon Dioxide (CO2) report for 2011, out today. UK vehicle fleet CO2 continues to fall The presence of lower-polluting new vehicles in the overall UK vehicle parc (the total fleet of new and existing vehicles on the roads) has driven parcwide CO2 levels down 7.8% since 2000, and 2.7% since 2009.  This is partly thanks to new vehicles, and also due to reduction of higher-polluting vehicles via legislation and scrappage incentive schemes. The overall reduction also comes in spite of an increased number of vehicles on the road, and greater average distances travelled compared to 2000. Diesel’s rise continues One notable trend has been market penetration of diesel-powered cars. In 2000 petrol powered cars held 85.9% of the market, with 14.1% diesels.

Peugeot RCZ View Top: It’s an RCZ with a Venetian blind for a roof

Magna Steyr is showcasing its technology with the Peugeot RCZ View Top Concept featuring a roof made of folding glass panels. The USP of the RCZ is its Zagato-esque double-bubble glass roof, a daring (and expensive)  design feature for a modestly priced production car. But what the double-bubble roof does is give a little bit of extra headroom in the back of the RCZ which makes it just about useable for vertically challenged passengers.

New 2015 Volvo XC90 – first exterior photo

The new Volvo XC90 (pictured) arrives in 2 weeks The reveal of the new 2015 Volvo XC90 is only two weeks away – although probably overdue by many years – and Volvo continue to pique our interest with more information on the new XC90. Top of Volvo’s information list this time is their new Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) which underpins the new mXC90, but in the process they have revealed the first exterior photo of the new XC90 (although the exterior has already been revealed), although it is only a front-end detail photo. What it does show is the XC90′s new headlights – complete with running lights Volvo has dubbed ‘Thor’s Hammer – which look similar to those found on a number of Volvo’s recent concepts, a much bigger grill than we’re used to seeing on a Volvo and a sculptured bonnet.