Toyota pushed General Motors off the top spot in America after 90 years domination of the market. Toyota sold 2.332 million vehicles in the United States in 2021, compared to 2.218 million for General Motors, as GM's US sales were down 13% and down 43% in the fourth quarter while Toyota was up 10% for the year. Former chief executive of the Welsh Automotive Forum, Tim Williams, was made an … [Read more...]
Carmarthenshire slips to top of winter accidents in Wales
Government data shows that London has more accidents (4,846) when the weather is poor than all other regions across the country, with nearly double the accidents that occur in Scotland and Wales, put together (2,629). The compilation for Leasing Options showed that within London itself, Lambeth was found to have the most bad-weather related accidents, with 248 occurrences reported last year. … [Read more...]
SUVs dominate used sales & Fiesta is most popular
SUVs were the fastest selling used cars of 2021, while the Ford Fiesta has retained its title of the most popular overall for the seventh year in a row. The Mercedes GLA has been crowned the fastest selling used car of the year, with examples of the luxury German model (below) spending the shortest time on the AA Cars platform before being snapped up by eager buyers. Booming demand for SUVs, … [Read more...]
Genesis trumpet a trio of newcomers
If you are a motorist with only a passing interest in the introduction of new models you will not have missed the news that a new premium brand called Genesis arrived in the UK and Europe and you'll see a lot more of them this year. Genesis is the luxury arm of Hyundai the South Korean brand which sells globally in huge numbers alongside its other brand, Kia. South Korea, China, Russia, Canada, … [Read more...]
New Year roadtest: McLaren GT
The Covid test is familiar to everyone, but it’s also been a test for supercar makers such as McLaren. While individuals coped with invasive personal tests, the high performance car brand has, like the auto-industry as a whole, been counting on suppliers and customers to keep it out of trouble and solvent for the post-pandemic period. It’s not been a smooth journey over the last two years and … [Read more...]
Christmas roadtest: Ferrari F8 Spider
We all expect supercars to go fast, very fast, but the best also go very well when going slowly, as we discovered with the Ferrari F8 Spider,writes Robin Roberts. Evolved from the 488 series, it blends the performance of the more track focused Pista with the practicality of the GTB and creates a very useable supercar with its own personality. Add the versatility of a folding metal roof … [Read more...]
Loeb joins Fourmaux in Ford Puma WRC team
M-Sport says Adrien Fourmaux and Sébastien Loeb will join Craig Breen and Gus Greensmith in Monte Carlo in a fleet of all-new Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1 cars. Frenchman Fourmaux joins Breen and Greensmith to form M-Sport’s trio of drivers for a full 2022 World Rally Championship campaign as the sport enters its new and exciting hybrid era. Fourmaux began his rally career a mere five years ago, … [Read more...]
Newslines 22 December
Holiday motorists are expected to clock up 3.2bn Christmas miles to see family and friends, according to a poll of 2,500 drivers conducted by the RAC. With weather forecasts pointing to the possibility of strong winds, rain, sleet and even snow for some in time for the 25th, the fears of bad Christmas driving conditions shared by 59% of drivers might turn out to be true. Most car buyers fail to … [Read more...]
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars offering record apprenticeships
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is offering a record number of places on its apprenticeship programme for 2022. Applications are now open for a total of 37 places, making this the largest intake since the scheme's inception in 2006. The number of places available is up by more than 15% on the previous record set in 2020, reflecting the company's strong business performance, new model launches, … [Read more...]
Clean air targets will not be achieved
Europe is expected to miss new clean air targets over the next few years. New T&E analysis finds that the emissions reduction trajectory proposed by the European Commission sets a far too generous emissions budget for 2021-2030. Weaknesses in the Regulation mean that, by 2030, emissions in the Effort Sharing Regulation sectors would not be cut by -40%, as envisaged by Fit for 55, but by a … [Read more...]