What’s the best way to lower emissions from cars? To sell more cars. How do? The logic is simple. The UK has a car parc of around 38 million; about two million new cars pour into the funnel each year; some eight million used cars change hands; and around 1.5 million cars are scrapped, at… Continue reading Inside the industry: Tailpipe emissions will be a thing of the past before too long
Author: Autocar Magazine UK
Stock take: the race is on to decarbonise our roads
While the measures being taken to decarbonise road transport in the coming years have been covered in great detail, less media attention has been paid on how to decarbonise roads themselves. Highways England recently released a report outlining its approach to lowering emissions in the future. In essence, the government agency wants its own operational… Continue reading Stock take: the race is on to decarbonise our roads
Under the skin: meet the 10kg hydrogen engine
A new, lightweight hydrogen engine concept from Israeli firm Aquarius Engines has been under development since 2014 and is close to maturity. Powered by hydrogen, the Aquarius Two Sided Free Piston Linear Engine (FPLE) is designed to generate electricity for plug-in series hybrids or range-extenders. The tiny engine consists of a mere 20 components, only… Continue reading Under the skin: meet the 10kg hydrogen engine
New BMW 5 Series: BMW lines up hot EV and 750bhp M5 PHEV
The seventh-generation BMW 5 Series will bow out after seven years in mid-2023 and its successor will be radically transformed, both technologically and stylistically, as part of BMW’s transition to a maker of electric cars. Most notably, the 5 Series will follow its X3 and 4 Series siblings in being offered with a choice of… Continue reading New BMW 5 Series: BMW lines up hot EV and 750bhp M5 PHEV
Meeting GKN: the British automotive firm leading the world
If there were a British car company in existence today, with a workforce of 27,000 people in 20 countries, that harboured so much design capability that its expertise were evident in half of the 80 million cars made last year globally, its brand would be a household name, right? Well, there is a British car… Continue reading Meeting GKN: the British automotive firm leading the world
Lada Niva: the 1970s Russian icon still going strong in 2021
In sensible driving situations and over short distances, though, it’s not half as arduous and exhausting to pilot as you might expect. There’s power steering, electric windows, air conditioning and even self-cancelling indicators (how very bourgeois), so once you’ve got over the ever-disorienting sensation of shifting with your right hand and the ever so slightly… Continue reading Lada Niva: the 1970s Russian icon still going strong in 2021
Inside the industry: EU may force firms to cut CO2 emissions further
Registrations of plug-in cars are flying. Great news for an industry that must transition rapidly to new technology, right? Maybe. Maybe not. Analyst and journalist Matthias Schmidt is the go-to source for tracking the evolution of the electric car market and recently he released his observations on western European for the first half of 2021. Points of note… Continue reading Inside the industry: EU may force firms to cut CO2 emissions further
Under the skin: How hydrogen could fuel the future of plant machinery
With a ban on new petrol and diesel cars and heavy vehicles looming, construction machinery manufacturer and consummate innovator JCB thinks the writing is on the wall for diesel in plant machinery too. There’s a popular misconception that the impending sales bans apply to the internal combustion engine overall, but they don’t, which is why… Continue reading Under the skin: How hydrogen could fuel the future of plant machinery
Mercedes primes luxury EQG electric G-Class 4×4
Mercedes-Benz will preview the long-mooted electrification of its G-Class SUV with a concept at the Munich motor show that will spearhead the roll-out of a 4×4 sub-brand. It has been nearly two years since CEO Ola Källenius confirmed that the Magna-built Land Rover Defender rival – launched in 1979 as the G-Wagen – would gain… Continue reading Mercedes primes luxury EQG electric G-Class 4×4
Formula E: Mercedes racer de Vries clinches title in Berlin
Mercedes-AMG driver Nyck de Vries clinched the ABB Formula E World Championship in a dramatic double-header season finale in Berlin. Thew 26-year-old Dutch driver could only manage 22nd and eighth place finishes in the two races on the Tempelhoff Airport street circuit, but that was enough to claim the crown in the seventh season of… Continue reading Formula E: Mercedes racer de Vries clinches title in Berlin