Scandinivian Micrrosystems Lr60 Digital Gyro Repeater. Made In Norway on 2040-parts.com

End of the road for 'Queen's favourite' car

ONE OF the most-loved and long-lived road vehicles, and a favourite with the Queen, is to cease production. The last Land Rover Defender will be produced by Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) at Solihull in the West Midlands in December 2015. Featuring in the Angelina Jolie film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and in the latest James Bond movie, Skyfall, the Defender name can be traced back to the early 1990s.

New Peugeot 208 production cut as sales disappoint

Peugeot is cutting back on production of the new 208 as its sales fail to reach expectations, just six months on from launch. It’s not enough when Europe is ion the midst of an economic crisis and car buyers are polarised between ‘budget’ cars that offer more for less than mainstream offerings and ‘Premium’ models that are bought on the back of a preconceived notion of more kudos. That leaves car makers like Peugeot (and Renault, Citroen, Vauxhall, Ford, Opel, Fiat…) between a rock and a hard place, unable – or unwilling – to compete with the offerings from Korea and saddled with a brand that doesn’t have the ‘class’ of an Audi or a BMW or a Mercedes or even a VW.

First Sight: Peugeot 1007

Peugeot has revealed first details of the 1007, which it hopes will change the way small cars are perceived and experienced - "as did the introduction of the hatchback in the early 60s". The 1007 was previewed in the form of the Sesame concept at the 2002 Paris Motor Show. The small car 'B' segment accounts for more than 35% of the European market and is expected to grow by 17% over the next ten years.