This feed contains the latest News Article feed items. http://www.motortorque.com/ Copyright 2013 MotorTorque All Rights Reserved. Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://backend.userland.com/rss Automotive Website Framework Engine (2.9.1208.1803) Drivers beware: harsher penalties are in store for those motorists that continue to break the law - with motoring offences getting stricter. If you use your phone while driving and are caught, you will now pay more. Plus, if you are caught speeding, you're in for a special day at court. Traffic courts to be introduced It is reported that the British government wants to set-up dedicated traffic courts in order to prosecute minor motoring offenses. This will be introduced following a recent pilot scheme in nine areas. The move is part of a drive towards cutting delays in the criminal justice system, as well as freeing up magistrates' courts so that they can deal with more serious cases - as each year, around 500,000 minor motoring offences have to go through the courts. The pilot scheme for the traffic courts have been implemented in Essex, Hampshire, Kent, Lincolnshire, Metropolitan Police, Nottinghamshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and West Yorkshire, with local police saying that they had successfully 'simplified' the legal process. Planning to open a traffic court in every police area by April 2014, the Government want to implement the use of specialist prosecutors to deal with up to 160 cases per day. Cases could include speeding and traffic light offenses, as well as any problems relating to car insurance and driving licenses. Harsher penalties for phone-using drivers The transport secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, has recently revealed that fines for a variety of motoring offences, including texting or making calls on a mobile phone while driving, will increase from £60 to £90. McLoughlin indicated that the fines, which will rise by 50 per cent, are part of a move to crack down on dangerous driving. The number of penalty points that drivers can receive, however, will remain at three. The increased fines will cover fixed-penalty notices for offences including using a handheld device while driving, as well as speeding or going through a red light. In addition, the newly-priced fine will hit people who cause other careless driving offences such as cutting-up other drivers, eating or smoking behind the wheel, driving at inappropriate or reckless speeds and needlessly staying in the middle lane on a motorway. Motorists still on the road with 12-point licences After a Freedom of Information request from the Institute of Advanced Motorists was sent to the DVLA, figures revealed that over 8,000 motorists are still driving on Britain's roads despite amassing enough points on their licences to warrant a driving ban. It was revealed that courts have allowed over two-thirds of drivers, who have reached the undesirable milestone of 12 points on their licence, to carry on driving around our roads. Normally, drivers with that many points on their licence, within three years, face an automatic ban, but the DVLA records show that this is not always the case in Britain. The records also show that a total of 14 drivers in the UK have managed to amass 25 points or more on their licence. More shocking, however, is the one unnamed male, from Warrington, Cheshire, who has managed to dodge a driving ban despite have an incredible 36 points on his licence - the highest in the UK. What are your views? Do you agree with the government introducing traffic courts and higher penalties for driving offences? How shocked are you about the 8,000 drivers that have somehow managed to avoid a ban and stay on the road? Like our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter to air your views and join the discussion. Written by Glenn Doyle. http://www.motortorque.com/car-news/motorists-beware-changes-ahead-22321.aspx Glenn Doyle Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT A motorist has been told to hand herself in after she admitted knocking a cyclist over on her Twitter feed. Road rage is a common occurrence on UK roads - whether it is induced by slow changing traffic lights or someone who cuts you up when changing lanes. In the case of Emma Way however, it seems that the trigger for her road rage was cyclist Toby Hockley - who she allegedly knocked off his bike, resulting in him landing in a hedge. After the incident, Emma Way posted this on her Twitter feed - "Definitely knocked a cyclist off his bike earlier - I have right of way he doesn't even pay road tax #bloodycyclists" - she was contacted by Norwich police and told to hand herself in after they saw the message. Emma Way's tweet received hundreds of retweets and outraged responses - forcing her to delete her Twitter account. Mr Hockley responded to Ms Way's tweet with "Oh hi! That was me you hit and FYI, you didn't knock me off, I'm too hard to be hurt by a p**** micra or whatever it was you were driving." Unfortunately we see incidents like this happen every day on our roads. Hopefully motorists and cyclists will learn to ride and drive in harmony. Join the debate on our Facebook page. Do you think cyclists should pay road tax? Will motorists and cyclists ever see eye to eye? http://www.motortorque.com/car-news/motorists-tweet-has-cyclists-in-a-spin-22319.aspx Richard Bush Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT There are some videos floating around the web that are as funny as they are shocking. With these types of videos you can't' help but stay glued to your computer screen. Well this is one of those videos. This new video from Asia follows a person's trials on a moped and is simply called 'He is the rider....hahahahah'. Slightly reminiscent of Leslie Nielson in the Naked Gun trilogy or Basil from Fawlty Towers, this moped rider has an incredibly bad day at this particular junction. The rider didn't have one incident...but five, before finally plunging into what seems to be an open sewer - sploosh. Watch as this unfortunate individual bounces around the street, dazed and confused. We hope that the rider walked away without any serious injuries. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blzOuGbu5Og http://www.motortorque.com/car-news/worlds-worst-moped-rider-plummets-into-sewer-22313.aspx Richard Bush Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT Gulf Oil International has partnered with British luxury car manufacturer Aston Martin to offer a competition to design the livery for the #97 Aston Martin Vantage GTE when it races at the Le Mans 24 Hrs race this year. Not only will the winner's livery design be displayed on the Aston Martin Racing car, the lucky designer will also receive a VIP trip to the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans race that will be held on 22nd-23rd June at the Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France. If your design is chosen by the judging panel, then you will travel to the iconic circuit to watch the race from the Gulf/Aston Martin VIP hospitality suite. Judging the competition will be Aston Martin works drivers Darren Turner, Stefan Mucke and Peter Dumbreck. The runners up will also receive some prizes, including Aston Martin Racing Clothing packs and Model cars, amongst others. For further information about the competition, visit the website: www.mygulfastonmartinracingcar.com/. Good luck! Written by Glenn Doyle. http://www.motortorque.com/car-news/gulf-aston-martin-offer-trip-to-the-le-mans-24-hrs-race-22309.aspx Glenn Doyle Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT Jaguar equips young future designers with high-tech concept technology and challenges them to create fresh new ideas. As part of its Jaguar Advanced Design, the British manufacturer has teamed up with students from Royal College of Art (RCA) to create an art exhibition at Clerkenwell Design Week in London. The Jaguar art installation in London is aimed at giving young aspiring designers a stage to display their new ideas and potential. In total there were nine different student design teams, each comprising of students from both vehicle design and textile design. The students brief for their projects was to create 'exterior and interior form study which expresses their vision of future Jaguar Design Language in either a sports or luxury context.' The teams were told to complete their work in a set time limit, similar to a task on the Apprentice. The teams made use of advanced technology used in the creation of Jaguar concept cars and production designs to help produce their work. After all of the entries where in, the winning team emerged as Ewan Gallimore and Claire Miller. According to Ewan and Claire, "Jaguar has a long history of ground-breaking design so we knew we needed to create something truly special to catch the eye of Jaguar Advanced Design Director, Julian Thomson. We began the project by looking at light, specifically the way the light falls within the space at Clerkenwell. We thought about how our form could accentuate this light and convey volume through its use of materials and our knowledge of how these materials react with one another." This art exhibition is a tad more constructive than some of Jaguar's previous art endeavours. The deconstruction of an XF clay model being one of the more unusual projects. The Clerkenwell Design Week in London is running from 21st May - 23rd May. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrdYLcVhqVQ http://www.motortorque.com/car-news/young-jaguar-designers-impress-at-clerkenwell-2013-22308.aspx Richard Bush Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT Renault has unveiled a limited edition Renault Mégane Renaultsport Red Bull Racing RB8 to celebrate the French makers third Formula 1 Constructors' world title with Red Bull Racing. With the build-up to the 2013 Monaco Grand Prix well underway, it is great timing from Renault to announce an F1 inspired Renaultsport version. The new flagship Mégane Renaultsport takes its inspiration from Red Bull Racing's Formula 1 cars. Finished in an exclusive Twilight Blue with Platinum Grey detail the Mégane Renaultsport includes Red Bull Racing branding, Recaro seats, R-Link multimedia and TomTom Live navigation system, Bridgestone Potenza RE050A tyres (from the 265 Trophy), plus the latest Version 2.0 of the on-board R.S. Monitor. This limited edition version comes with the built-in, connected R-Link multimedia tablet for the Mégane Renaultsport range. The system's six functions (navigation, telephony, multimedia, vehicle, systems and R-Link Store applications catalogue) are controlled using the touch screen display, the voice command function or the joystick situated on the centre console. Along with R-Link, Renaultsport Monitor comes standard with the car. It uses R-Link's seven-inch colour display, GPS tracked lap timing, special Red Bull Racing home page, information displayed in 3D form, data can be saved on a USB dongle while there is also real-time access to power output data, 0-62 mph times, G-Force diagram, etc. The Red Bull RB8 version will use the same 2.0-litre turbocharged 261bhp engine with stop-start as the Mégane Renaultsport 265 Cup. Only 30 cars are destined for UK. Order books are due to open in mid-June. Pricing is unconfirmed and will be announced closer to the launch of the car but we expect prices to be around the £30,000 mark for this limited edition Renault Mégane Renaultsport Red Bull Racing RB8. http://www.motortorque.com/car-news/limited-edition-renault-mégane-renaultsport-red-bull-racing-rb8-revealed-22304.aspx Simon McBride Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT A dad has built his automotive loving daughter a working mini replica of a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO. Remember when you where seven years old and you would come running down the stairs, dart out the front door and find your Dad had made you a replica of a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO? Me neither. However, this is exactly what happened with seven year old Scarlett Gurr from Surrey -when her dad revealed he had built her a mini replica of the £25 million motor. This Ferrari 250 GTO is half the size of the original 1962 Ferrari and features a 49cc engine. This engine allows the mini Ferrari to reach speeds of up to 15mph. Although this may seem totally ludicrous and random, Scarlett's father, Stuart, is actually a car restorer, giving him the knowhow when it came to putting together a mini racer. In the past Stuart has made Scarlett mini replicas of the car from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and a Type 35 Bugatti. Young seven year old Scarlett is a member of the British Women Racing Drivers Club and is hoping to take part in the Little Big Man race at Le Mans next year. Stuart has promised to add to Scarlett's collection with a mini Mercedes Uhlenhaut Gullwing coupe 300SLR. http://www.motortorque.com/car-news/dad-builds-daughter-mini-1962-ferrari-250-gto-22300.aspx Richard Bush Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT Citroen and Arsenal FC have collaborated for another radical advert to promote its new Citroen DS3 Cabrio model. What do you get if you cross four Arsenal footballers with a dirrrrrty Citroen DS3 Cabrio? An awesome compilation of football adrenaline mixed with a high speed car chase? No. You get three Arsenal footballers soaping a car down and cleaning all the muck off with sponge football's...anti climax much. This collaboration has come around as Citroen is the official automotive sponsor of the London club. The most recent collaboration between Citroen and Arsenal see's football players Aaron Ramsey, Olivier Giroud and Per Mertesacker getting together to wash Thomas Vermaelen's Citroen DS3 Cabrio. After receiving a rather tedious maths lesson from Professor Kenneth Dickens about the perfect equation of a car wash - 'the Premier car wash' (E=1/t+1/w) - we see the four Arsenal players appear on screen, each with their own 'Premier car wash' nicknames. Aaron Ramsey - 'Works bumper to bumper', Olivier Giroud - 'The finisher', Per Mertesacker - 'roof specialist (he's the tall one)' and finally Thomas Vermaelen - 'The driving force'. The 'Premier car wash' starts when Thomas Vermaelen drives up and says 'the works please, gentleman'. We then watch as the players stroll around the car splashing it with soaking wet sponge footballs. The players then start to throw the wet footballs at each other, running around the car and laughing as they do so. There is also a cheesy, 70's, Starsky and Hutch-esque soundtrack playing in the background. A brief intervention takes place where they actually kick the footballs around. Although this advert may seem massively leftwing for both the brand and the club, this is not the first time both have come together for a bizarre advert. Many of us will remember the Citroen DS5 advert that saw the Arsenal team performing ballet. I wonder what else Citroen and Arsenal has in store for us...synchronized swimming maybe? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32B-d6DUXs0&feature=youtu.be http://www.motortorque.com/car-news/citroen-and-arsenal-fc-present-the-premier-car-wash-22289.aspx Richard Bush Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT BMW UK today revealed its network of dealers that will supply and support BMW 'i' - which the company calls its 'revolutionary new sub-brand', featuring electric drive systems and premium mobility services. From launch, 46 BMW sales agents across the UK will offer the company's upcoming i range. Each sales agent will have specialist technical capabilities which allow them to carry out repairs to the vehicles' high voltage batteries. In addition, a wider service network is planned in order to offer extended coverage for the general service, maintenance and repair of BMW i vehicles. So far, only two BMW i cars have been confirmed for production. These are the fully-electric BMW i3 megacity vehicle and the plug-in hybrid BMW i8 sports car. The i3 model, BMW's first fully-electric production car, is due to go on sale in the UK in late 2013. As with the i8 sports car, the BMW i3 features an all-aluminium chassis combined with a passenger cell made entirely from lightweight carbon fibre reinforced plastic. Tim Abbot, BMW Group UK Managing Director, said that customer enquiries about BMW i are already 'extremely high', with more than 6,000 potential-customers registering their interesting in the i brand. Abbot commented: 'With the announcement of our BMW i retail network we are open for business and taking deposits on the i3 and i8. Our BMW i dealerships are located in the areas of the UK with the highest concentrations of population.' The BMW Concept i3 is currently on display in the world's first BMW i showroom on Park Lane, London. In May, the car will feature at the Wentworth BMW PGA Championship and is then due to appear at the Canary Wharf Motorexpo in June 2013. Written by Glenn Doyle. http://www.motortorque.com/car-news/bmw-uk-i-new-dealer-network-22288.aspx Glenn Doyle Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT An ambitious competition to create the most economical car of all has taken place at Rotterdam in the Netherlands, where as many as five new fuel economy records were set. This was achieved at the Shell Eco-marathon Europe 2013, where the most economical car averaged an astonishing 8,418mpg. This year's Shell Eco-marathon was partaken in by 183 student teams from different countries across Europe. Each team creates a unique vehicle, either a Prototype or UrbanConcept, which is especially designed to be as aerodynamic and fuel efficient as possible. Each student-made vehicle is either petrol-powered or runs on electricity. The goal for each team entering the Shell Eco-marathon is to make their vehicle drive the furthest distance around a one kilometre-long course, using just a single litre of fuel, or only 1kWh of electricity. Although these student-made creations bear little resemblance to today's standard passenger vehicles, each creation entered in to the Eco-marathon still needs to meet the same roadworthiness criteria of a standard passenger vehicle. Thus each prototype required four wheels, a steering wheel, doors, headlights and taillights, a brake pedal and other details included. The overall winner of this year's Shell Eco-marathon was the La Joilverie team from France, which created a very small cylinder-shaped petrol-powered vehicle. The design of the winning vehicle means the driver lies down within the very low slung shell, with navigation achieved by using a screen by the driver's feet. While this unconventional set-up may not be the most comfortable, it certainly seemed to help in making an incredibldy efficient vehicle. The winning creation at the Eco-marathon achieved a stunning 8,418mpg. The most economical diesel vehicle at this year's Eco-marathon was designed by a separate France-based team which adopted a similar smooth, short and narrow bodyshell and lie-down driving position. The diesel creation by IUT GMP Valenciennes achieved 3,491mpg during the Eco-marathon, a figure even the developers of Volkswagen's BlueMotion technology can only dream of for the time being. In truth the vast majority of vehicles entered in the Eco-marathon were tiny futuristic-looking creations which could physically only fit one person within. There was an exception provided by the Germany-based Team Mobileo, which carried a passenger in its four-seater electric car model and achieved 66.8km/kWh even with the extra weight onboard. One of the few British-based team entries at this year's Eco-marathon consisted of students from the University of Oxford. This group's creation was handed a special off-track award for technical innovation. Although the vehicle itself was not amongst the longest runners, the Oxford students' concept of a compact battery electric car which used solar panels to recharge proved to impress the Eco-marathon judges. http://www.motortorque.com/car-news/record-breakings-vehicles-achieve-over-8418mpg-in-shell-eco-marathon-22287.aspx Stephen Goldasz Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT