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Town/country fuel price gap closes

THE PETROL PUMP postcode lottery, meaning rural drivers lose out to town motorists on price, appears to be coming to an end. The gap between prices in country districts compared with urban areas has closed from around 5p a litre to as low as 2p, according to the AA. This dip in rural prices has contributed to a general nationwide fall in the cost of petrol, which now averages 129.63p a litre compared with 130.46p in mid-January.

Christopher Svensson appointed Director of Design, Ford Asia Pacific and Africa

Christopher Svensson has recently been appointed as Director of Design, Ford Asia Pacific and Africa. He takes over the role from Scott Strong. Based in Melbourne, Australia, Svensson and his team will be designing products not only for the local regions but also global vehicles in competition with Ford's studios in Europe and North America.

Kia Borrego

Kia has released photos of the Borrego, a full-size SUV for the North American market. The production model, which was originally previewed as the Mesa Concept at the 2005 Detroit Auto show, would have taken exactly three years to be transformed from a show car to a full production model when it makes its official debut at the NAIAS in 2008. Overall proportions and design details have been adjusted and toned-down noticeably from the Mesa concept, with details such as more realistically-sized alloy wheels, the body-To-DLO ratio, a no-frills interior and, perhaps most apparent, the more subtle greenhouse graphics.