HINT ABOUT FUTURE PLANS: A visit this week to GM's media website reveals perhaps the group's true interests in its affiliations with troubled Fiat.
Under various GM-controlled brand logos you can download is the Alfa Romeo badge. However, the Italians still seem to believe they are part of the Fiat Auto group. The Fiat logo didn't feature on the website.
M IS THE WORD:
BMW has released details of its new M6 (below). This 5-litre V10 version of the 6-Series will be able to go from 0-62mph in 4.6 seconds. The car comes with an M differential lock to improve handling and stability. Likely to cost over €140,000, it will go on sale here in December 2005.
Meanwhile BMW and PSA Peugeot Citroën have unveiled a new petrol engine, the fruit of a two-year collaboration. It will be used in PSA's small and medium-sized cars and in BMW's Mini model from 2006.
REVIVAL PLAN DELAYED:
Mitsubishi Motors has been unable to agree the terms of a multi-billion dollar bail-out with partner firms and has been forced to delay the announcement of its latest business revival plan until early next year.
LANE FOR SHARERS:
Britain's first ever carshare motorway lane scheme is to be tested on the M1. The dedicated lane will operate at peak times for cars carrying two or more people between Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire to St Albans in Hertfordshire. The lane will operate between 7am and 10am and between 4pm and 7pm and be used as a normal lane outside these hours.
Car pool lanes have been successfully used in the US since the 1970s. Generally they have been found to work effectively on motorways of four lanes or more. There are currently over 125 projects in 30 cities across the US.
RIO TO THE ROAD:
Kia has released the first official details of its new Rio (above) due to be unveiled in Detroit next month. Three engines will be available in Europe - a 1.4-litre and 1.6 litre petrol and a 1.5-litre diesel. The car will reach the Irish market late in 2005. It's expected to be significantly more spacious than the current model.
PRICES UP BY 2.2%
Average retail prices for new cars in Ireland rose 2.2 per cent during the 12 months to November 2004. The PricewaterhouseCoopers and eurocarprice.com Index of New Car Prices shows that average retail car prices in Ireland last month were 32 per cent higher than the average for the euro currency zone.