Search Results for: cars

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A RESEARCH project funded by a European Commission Euro 1.62 million grant is to develop technology to install hydrogen fuel pumps in petrol stations by connecting them to a country’s existing natural gas supply network. The international Hydrofueler project – led by the University of Warwick – thinks that hydrogen can be crated form natural gas and delivered to cars via existing pipelines.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
VEHICLE manufacturers will be required to introduce new bumper and bonnet designs to reduce the risk of serious injury in collisions with pedestrians and cyclists, the European Commission announced yesterday (Thursday 20 – 2), dashing manufacturers’ hopes that a voluntary deal would suffice.…

BY MARK ROWE
SINGAPORE, said to be the world’s most expensive place to buy a car, has scrapped legal requirements for would-be buyers to hand over a 30 per cent down payment on purchases. Instead of having to pay up-front fees of at least US$11,000, in future they will be able to pay for the whole car on credit.…

BY JONATHAN THOMSON
RESEARCHERS at DaimlerChrysler are developing an automatic driving correction system that they like to call a “predictive powertrain;” DC claims the technology could reduce engine fuel consumption by as much as 10 per cent.

The German carmaker is planning to install “a range of sensors” into vehicles that can examine a driver’s individual style as well as road and traffic conditions.…

BY PHILIP FINE

THE UNITED States automobile industry’s main lobby group has acknowledged that Sport Utility Vehicles (SUV’s) and pick-up trucks (small vans) pose serious dangers to smaller vehicles in collisions, and has promised its members will now develop voluntary standards to boost safety.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
A PROPOSED European Union (EU) directive forcing car manufacturers to re-design cars so that pedestrians and cyclists suffer less severe injuries in collisions with vehicles has been generally welcomed by the insurance industry, though with some reservations. The planned legislation would, among other things, compel manufacturers to bring in new bonnet and bumper designs aimed at significantly reducing the severity of injury in accidents with motor vehicles at speeds up to 40 kph (about 25 mph).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has been laying preparations for possible fuel shortages associated with a possible war in the Middle East, summoning its special group on petroleum provisions to analyse existing European Union (EU) fuel stocks and supplies. The Commission wants every Member State to stockpile enough fuel to last for 40 days of standard consumption.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has threatened Italy with legal action at the European Court of Justice over obstacles that Italian law creates for the parallel imports of cars from other European Union (EU) Member States. The Commission claims that Italy is breaking EU fair trading laws that stop national governments from unfairly protecting their own local companies against foreign EU businesses.…

BY PHILIP FINE

CALIFORNIA’S tough emissions rules seem to be translating into an increase in the number of environmentally friendly cars and trucks on the US market, according to this year’s "Green Book", published by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE BRITISH government is under pressure from the European Commission to reform its motor insurance legislation, so that compensation is paid to victims of property damage caused by stolen vehicles whose driver cannot be identified.

Brussels has sent a formal request to London requesting that UK legislation allows for such payments, claiming it has a duty to act under the European Union’s (EU) Second Motor Insurance Directive (84/5/EEC) and threatening legal action at the European Court of Justice if it does not.…