Car manufacturing halted in Japan

Nissan cars awaiting export wrecked by Tsunami In the wake of the devastating earthquake and Tsunami that struck Japan last week, the domestic car industry has ground to a halt. Honda, Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi have all now said they are halting all production until at least Wednesday in order to allow time to address damage, and to allow staff to make contact with family in affected areas. But it’s not just the damage to plants that’s the problem.

Audi launches special TTS to celebrate 500,000 sales (2013)

By Martin Saarinen First Official Pictures 16 October 2013 16:00 Audi is unleashing a special edition TTS, with RS looks and lashings of equipment. The TTS Limited Edition commemorates the iconic Audi smashing the 500,000 sales barrier, in its fifteenth year on sale. Priced from £38,860 for the coupe and £42,320 for the roadster, the special TTS costs £2815 or £4115 more than its coupe or roadster equivalent, but Audi claims the cars get an extra £5665 of kit to tempt punters.

Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid does 62mpg in the hands of motoring journalists

The Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid – a Panamera with a plug-in hybrid powertrain – arrives last month, along with a 2013 facelift for the Panamera range , complete with claims from Porsche that it could do 91mpg. That was never going to happen in the real world, but Porsche has followed up its official economy figures with a degree of proof that the Panamera E-Hybrid can actually achieve very impressive economy numbers in the real world, and in the hands of motoring journalists – a group not renowned for their light touch on the throttle. At a press event in Hockenheim, Porsche let car journalists loose on the Panamera E-Hybrid for a total of 42 drives over a total distance of 750 miles and returned an average of 62mpg.