Fifth Gear Tonight: Skoda Fabia vRS, BMW M6, DIY Servicing & best small cars

Fifth Gear tonight sees Vicki in the Skoda Fabia vRS, Tiff testing best small cars, Jason with the BMW M6 and Jonny on DIY car servicing. With no Top Gear on TV now the latest series has ended (well, apart from the ‘Best of’ Sky+ insists on recording) it’s Fifth Gear for your TV petrolhead fix, with tonight’s episode – episode 6 – offering old-fashioned consumer advice as well as a bit of blasting and blatting in something interesting. Vicki Butler-Henderson is off for a performance motoring triathlon in the company of Norwegian rally star Andreas Mikkelsen, with fun in a pair of single-seat race cars, a race against the clock in a 200bhp off-road buggy and a proper play and test of the appealing Skoda Fabia vRS (you can see a clip of the Fabia vRS test in the video below).

Carbon Motors denied government loan for police cruiser

Carbon Motors, an Indiana-based company that aims to build police vehicles, said on Wednesday that the Department of Energy has denied its application for a loan under the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing program. The loan program was created under President George W. Bush and continued with President Barack Obama.

Group 2 Dodge Challenger echoes past SCCA racers

Among muscle cars--even among Dodge Challengers, new or old--the Classic Design Concepts Group 2 Challenger stands out. Winner of the Chrysler Design Excellence Award at the 2008 Specialty Equipment Market Association show in Las Vegas last November, the Group 2 Challenger moves from concept to production this month as Michigan-based Classic Design Concepts begins building its version of the Dodge performance coupe. The Group 2 appearance package, inspired by the wide-body SCCA Trans-Am Group 2 race cars of the 1960s and '70s, includes custom carbon-composite lightweight front fenders and billboard-style rear fenders, aerodynamic front spoiler wings, Group 2 badging and mongo 20-inch wheels and tires.