New Kayser Vacuum Suction Pump, 7525068 on 2040-parts.com

Hyundai Suicide ‘Advert’ causes a rumpus

It’s not easy advertising your wares and finding the right balance between mainstream and innovative to capture attention, as Hyundai has found out to their cost with an ‘advert’ for the hydrogen powered ix35 FCEV which, rather distastefully, depicts a man trying to commit suicide by running a hose from the tailpipe to the cabin before realising he can’t achieve his aim as the FCEV’s only emissions are water. It’s a proper cock-up from Hyundai – usually so sure-footed with their PR – but, despite Hyundai US putting the blame at the door of Hyundai UK, there’s more to this suicide ‘advert’ than meets the eye. It seems the suicide video was put together by Innocean – a European Ad Agency owned by Hyundai’s Chairman Chung Mong-koo and his daughter, and responsible for much of Hyundai’s marketing output – and was a clumsy attempt to gauge reaction to the somewhat macabre take on the benefits of an FCEV.

Will the Toyota Prius plug-in cost much the same as a normal Prius?

Toyota Prius plug-in - only around £2.5k more than a regular Prius? Toyota has managed to corner the market in hybrid cars over the last decade after its remarkably prescient decision to focus on ‘Eco’ cars long before the mainstream cottoned on to the changing mood of governments – and car buyers – to the impact cars have on wallets and the environment. We won’t drag out our usual objections to the ceaseless quest for pointless ever-lower CO2 emissions, but we will instead commend the Prius for being a remarkable transport appliance, one which – if driven in a certain manner – can produce remarkable feats of economy and emit pleasingly low levels of the stuff that does real harm – NOx and Particulates.

Sunroof smash woman narrowly escapes injury

A WOMAN narrowly escaped serious injury last week when an unidentified object was dropped from a motorway bridge onto her car, police said. The woman, from Norfolk, was driving northwards on the M11 at around 5.15pm on Tuesday when the item was thrown from the bridge over the motorway at junction seven (Harlow). The sunroof of the black Volkswagen Golf was smashed but the woman was miraculously uninjured.