AA warns of automated penalties

DRIVERS are still suffering a year on from the time most wheelclampers were banned from operating in private car parks, according to the AA. Twelve months on, parking enforcement firms are reaping large sums from issuing automated "penalty" tickets. The AA said that while Communities Minister Eric Pickles is reining in local authorities who over-zealously use CCTV, private parking operators now rely heavily on this technology and automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) to watch drivers and issue tickets through the post when they put a foot wrong in parking areas.

The Grand National Roadster Show is like church, with chrome trim

You can argue all day about which is the best and most influential hot-rod show in the world, but we'll take the Grand National Roadster Show, which will be held this weekend at the Fairplex in Pomona, Calif. This is the 61st running of what grizzled veterans have simply called "Oakland," after the city that hosted it for its first half-century. This is the seventh year the show has been held in the Art Deco halls and sprawling avenues of the Fairplex, all of which will be under sunny skies and balmy temps all weekend.

Vauxhall Ampera price cut by £3,500

The Vauxhall Ampera (pictured) drops in price by £3500 Although we still feel the range-extender is the right way for car makers to go to get the car buying public to accept EVs, the range-extender Vauxhall Ampera has not exactly been a runaway success. Despite Vauxhall offering potential Ampera buyers the option of trying it for 30 days and handing it back if they don’t like it, the Ampera has failed miserably to sell in any sort of volume. So, with new competition on the way from the range-extender BMW i3, Vauxhall are taking drastic action to try and tempt buyers in to the Ampera and are slashing prices by £3,500.