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Fiat 500 Pink goes topless

Car Broker — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:46:00 +0000

Fiat has launched a convertible version of its Fiat 500 Pink special edition.

Like the hatchback special edition that went on sale in January, the 500C Pink is, well, bright pink.

Unlike the hatchback however, just 300 models will be made (compared with the 500 models of the 500 hatchback special edition).

The 500C Pink is based on the 1.2 Pop version, and at £13,500 it costs £1200 more than the non-Pink car. However, Fiat says the 500C Pink comes with £1870-worth of extra kit.

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How’s your driving?

Car Broker — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:35:00 +0000

Think you're a good driver? Then prove it. What Car? is investigating the nation's driving standards and is offering 20 readers the chance to retake their driving test free of charge.

Don't worry, you won't lose your licence if you fail – it’s a mock test carried out by expert driving instructors from the What Car? Driving School – but the results will give you the opportunity to put right any bad habits you might have acquired over the years.

You'll also get to feature in What Car? magazine, so you must be willing to have your photo taken. Participants must have held a full licence for at least a year and be over 18 years of age.

Sign up here
If you're interested in taking part, e-mail will.nightingale@haymarket.com with the following details:
• Your name
• Your age
• Where you live
• How long you have held a full driving licence

If you're picked, we'll arrange your test with a local instructor from the What Car? Driving School. Tests will take place between May 1 and 14.

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New BMW 5 Series Touring

Car Broker — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:07:00 +0000

BMW has revealed its new 5 Series Touring, which goes on sale in the UK this September from £30,380.

Initially, two petrol and two diesel models will be available: the 201bhp 520i and range-topping turbocharged 302bhp 535i, along with the 181bhp 520d and 242bhp 530d diesels.

The estate will offer between 590 and 1670 litres of luggage space, which slightly more room than in an Audi A6 Avant, but considerably less than the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class estate.

Every model in the range has rear self-levelling air suspension, 40/20/40 split folding seats, a loadbay cover that lifts and drops with the tailgate and a rear window that opens for dropping smaller items into the boot.

Front and rear parking sensors are also standard, along with Bluetooth and leather upholstery.

Like the saloon, a six-speed manual gearbox is fitted as standard, while an eight-speed automatic transmission is an option at £1490.

BMW 5 Series Touring (auto figures in brackets)

Model
520d
530d
523i
535i

Price
£30,380
£39,400
£33,585
£39,650

Power (bhp)
181
242
201
302

0-62mph/top speed
8.3/138 (8.3/137)
6.4/151 (6.4/150)
8.2/144 (8.4/141)
6.0/155 (6.1/155)

CO2 (g/km)
137 (139)
169 (165)
185 (182)
201 (197

Avg economy (mpg)
54.3 (53.3)
44.1 (44.8)
35.8 (36.2)
32.8 (33.2)

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Road tolls essential if gridlock is to be avoided

Car Broker — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:06:00 +0000

Filed under: Government/Legal, Opinion/Editorial, UK, News

The UK's road network requires a comprehensive overhaul if gridlock is to be avoided, a major business organisation warned today.

The Confederation of British Industry, a lobbyist that represents 80 per cent of the FTSE, claims that the highway network requires the same kind of ambitious vision that the three political parties have thus far saved for high speed rail.

A new report published by the CBI claims that congestion damages the UK's economy to the tune of £8bn a year, and suggested that it was critical investment in the highway network be maintained at a pre recession level - even if this means introducing controversial road tolling schemes.

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Government eyes lower drink-drive limit

Car Broker — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:29:00 +0000

Filed under: Government/Legal, Opinion/Editorial, Safety, UK, News

It seems increasingly likely that the Transport Secretary will lower the drink-drive limit if Labour wins the next election.

Lord Adonis is awaiting a report by Sir Peter North QC on the suitability of the current system before making a decision, but there is increasing speculation that it will recommend cutting the legal limit from 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood to just 50 milligrams.

This would mean that a pint of beer would be enough to render an average sized man unable to drive in the eyes of the law. Similarly, a small glass of wine would contain too much alcohol for a female motorist.

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Caterham drifting courses expanded

Car Broker — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:15:13 +0000

Caterham Cars has announced a new Advanced Drift Course, building on the success of its tyre-smoking standard drifting experience.

F1 considers mandatory second pit stop

Car Broker — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 08:12:00 +0000

Filed under: Motorsport, News

The fallout from the remarkably dull opening race of the 2010 Formula One season has already begun in earnest.

Following a fairly dreary Bahrain Grand Prix, several team bosses are calling for a fresh look at the proposed ruling which would make a second pit stop mandatory for all cars during a race.

There were extensive discussions about adopting the new rule over the winter break, but the proposal ultimately failed to gain enough support. Artificially inserting another pit stop might seem like a brazen attempt to alter the race order without anyone actually going through the tiresome business of overtaking, but with sponsorship deals particularly hard to come by, a number of the sport's luminaries are desperate to inject some excitement into F1 without lumbering the teams with expensive technical changes.

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BMW releases 5-series Touring details

Car Broker — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 06:38:00 +0000

Filed under: Videos, BMW, News

BMW has confirmed that it will make an estate version of its new 5 Series executive saloon and, in the quest to provide more carrying capacity, promises it will be 60 litres bigger than the outgoing model.

The 5 Series saloon is on its way to dealerships in March, and customers who want a bit more boot for their Beemer will be able to get their hands on the Touring from September. To start off with it will offer two diesel and two petrol engines - a 520d and a 530d, and a 523i and a 535i - although it would be no surprise to see a monster-engined M5 join the line up later on.

A slight price increase over the old version means that the entry-level 520d comes in at £30,380, while the 535i will set you back £39,650. Strangely for BMW, there is no quantum leap in terms of fuel efficiency, and the 520d only improves over the old model by 1mpg to 54.3mpg for the manual gearbox option. This takes emissions down to 137g/km from 140g/km for the old version.

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On video: Pagani Zonda R

Car Broker — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 06:32:00 +0000

Filed under: Special/Limited Editions, Supercars, Marketing/Advertising, Videos

Pagani has released a cinematic marketing video to promote the track pedigree of its special edition Zonda R.

The ultra-exclusive track special gets a price tag to match its outrageous 6.0-litre V12 AMG engine and carbon fibre monocoque body, and is intended to compete with the Ferrari FXX for the disposable income of multi-millionaires.

The Zonda R is likely to be the last incarnation of Pagani's supercar before it's replaced later this year. We saw the car in the flesh at Geneva, and even stationary on a motor show stand it looks quick. To see it in motion, click above.

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Drink drive limit could be lowered, says Lord Adonis

Car Broker — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:40:43 +0000

The drink drive limit could be lowered so that motorists would risk being unfit to drive after drinking just one pint of beer, the Transport Secretary has suggested.