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Lexus IS 300h promises unrivalled ownership costs

The new Lexus IS - launched at Detroit in January and costing from £26,495 for the IS 250 in the UK – actually offers ownership costs that eclipse diesel offerings from the likes of Jaguar, BMW, Audi and Mercedes, say Lexus. Despite the logical assumption that the complex hybrid powerplant in the IS 300h would cost more to maintain, Lexus say the opposite is true. Because it has no clutch and the starter motor and alternator are integrated they require no servicing or replacement and Lexus has fitted a timing chain instead of a timing belt, so it won’t need regular replacement either.

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.

Bring a Trailer: 1960 Alfa Romeo Giulietta

Our friends at Bring a Trailer are offering a gorgeous unrestored 1960 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Normale. The 65,000-mile California car is claimed to be “one of the most original 101-series Giulietta Sprints in existence today with all-original interior, mostly original paint, perfect gauges, factory engine-compartment components, no accidents, and straight chrome and trim.” Curiously, the engine and transmission were removed and rebuilt in 1975 but were never reinstalled. The car is now available in Monterey, Calif., for $23,500, so visit Bring a Trailer to get in touch with the seller and to view a lot more photos.