LEASE OF LIFE FOR MG?: The MG TF roadster could survive the recent collapse of MG Rover and go back on sale later this year.
Chapman Automotive, a group created by a former Lotus designer and partners, is in the final stages of a bid to buy the rights and manufacturing equipment for the two-seater from MG Rover administrators PriceWaterhouseCoopers. The group says its bid is backed by a consortium of investors including an overseas manufacturer, a US investment fund and a wealthy entrepreneur.
PEOPLE'S CAR HITS 100 MILLION MARK: The 100 millionth Volkswagen rolled off a German assembly line on Tuesday, taking the brand into an elite of four car companies whose output has stretched into nine digits, Europe's biggest car-maker said.
The Touran compact van (pictured with Bernd Pischetsrieder, CEO of Volkswagen) with a silver metallic paint job that set the milestone at VW's headquarters in Wolfsburg, is only distantly related to the Volkswagen Beetle that became a global icon of affordable mobility after the second World War.
Volkswagen - "people's car" in German - made just 1,800 Beetles in 1945, but eventually produced 21.5 million of the bug-shaped, bug-eyed vehicles.
Output of the Golf, which became the company's subsequent workhorse, overtook the Beetle in 2002 and has hit 23 million. VW has also made 13 million Passats and 9 million Polos.
Until now, only the Ford, Toyota and Chevrolet brands had made more than 100 million vehicles.
PREMIUM RATE LIARS: According to research in Britain up to 10 per cent of drivers have lied during a car insurance application. In a study released by RAC Financial Services, it's claimed the most common lie is that the car is kept more securely than it is.
Others involve under-valuing the car, lying about its performance or giving the wrong address. All of these are intended to save money by lowering insurance premiums.