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New scheme lets drivers rent their cars out

Car owners can now make money by renting their vehicles when they’re not being used, using a new car rental scheme. The ‘easyCar Club’ venture lets drivers advertise their cars and matches them with people looking to rent a car for a short period. On Bing: see pictures of unusual hire cars Hertz offers supercar hire Although the service is now available nationwide, it was initially trialled in London – meaning many of the cars advertised are concentrated on the London area.

Toyota recalls Toyota Avensis & Lexus IS 250

Toyota recall the Avensis & Lexus IS 250 Toyota must have a sinking feeling of deja vu today, as the spectre of last year came back to haunt. 2010 was the year of the Toyota Recall, with millions of cars worldwide recalled to address the ‘Throttlegate’ issue of sticky accelerator pedals. But today’s recall announcement is not in that league, affects less than 20,000 cars in the UK (although over 1 million worldwide) and there have been no reports of any accidents relating to the recall in the UK.

Doomed Saturns, Hummers make assembly-line curtain calls

Two doomed General Motors brands--Saturn and Hummer--are getting their last hurrahs on the assembly line. GM assembled 1,037 Saturn Outlooks last month after not making any Saturns since October. “We are building out a few Saturns to utilize existing material,” GM spokeswoman Kim Carpenter said.