RS GETS THE PRIZE: Ford's new hot hatchback, the Focus RS, has been voted car of the year 2003 by BBC Top Gear magazine. Mercedes-Benz took three titles - best executive car for its new E-Class, best coupé for the CLK and best convertible with the SL.
Honda took the best small car award with its new Jazz, while its Accord took the best medium car title. The Peugeot 307 won two awards: the best compact car and best family car for the seven-seater SW model. The Ferrari Enzo, Top Gear's ultimate dream car for 2003, has a 6.0 litre V6 engine with a maximum speed of 217 mph.
MORGAN MOVE: British sports car maker Morgan has appointed Belfast dealer Parkgate to sell its uniquely designed cars in Ireland. Parkgate has the full range of Morgan cars, from the traditional wooden-framed 4/4 models to the aluminium intensive 4.4 litre Aero 8.
FIAT LOSSES: Fiat has posted a €4.26 billion net loss for 2002 as one-off items drew a line under the industrial group's worst-ever year and cleared the decks for new management to focus on a turnaround plan.
The Italian firm also announced the board had approved Umberto Agnelli, the head of the company's controlling family, to take over as chairman from Paolo Fresco. Giuseppe Morchio, a former top executive at Pirelli, was named Fiat's fourth chief executive in nine months.
SMART RECALL: DaimlerChrysler is recalling 50,000 of its tiny Smart cars that were produced in 1999 and 2000 due to a technical problem with the vehicles' rear lights. Smart City-Coupes which came off the production line from February to April and October to December 1999, as well as those from January 2000, are subject to a possible malfunction in the electrical connection between the light switch and the light itself, the company said in a statement.
The Smart car went on sale across Europe in 1999, though there remains no official Irish distributor.
FINE TIMES: A century-old car off the road for five decades has been sent a fine for evading London's congestion charge. The 1898 Daimler was accused of entering the city earlier this month without paying the £5 fee, even though it has been on display at museums in Bristol since 1947. A computer glitch is believed to be the cause of the error but the museum bosses at its current home must still go through the official appeals process to avoid the £40 fine.