A round-up of other news stories in brief
SMART FOR PROFIT IN 2007:
Smart remains on track to break-even in 2007, it reiterated yesterday after a magazine report that it could emerge from losses as early as next year.
"We are expecting to reach break-even in 2007," a Smart spokesman said, repeating that the brand was working to cut expenses further after reducing fixed costs at its headquarters by 26 per cent so far.
Focus Money had reported Smart might break-even in 2006 after cutting costs this year by around 30 per cent. It lost around €600 million in 2004, but has slashed its workforce and pared down its product line-up.
ATOMIC WEIGHT:
A car made from a single molecule, complete with chassis, axles and wheels, has given a whole new meaning to "mini". The world's smallest driving vehicle measures just three to four nanometres across, making it slightly wider than a strand of DNA.
Yet it functions like a real car, rolling on four wheels in a direction perpendicular to its axis.
A nanometre is one millionth of a millimetre. By comparison, a human hair measures about 80,000 nanometres in diameter.
Scientists in Texas built the molecular car (below) to show the potential of "nano" machines.
CARLESS GARAGES:
Many motorists are keeping everything in their garages except their cars, according to a survey in Britain.
Two-thirds of drivers do not regularly keep their car in a garage and 20 per cent have vehicles too big to fit in their garage, it found.
Most people who leave their car parked outside said their garages were full of "household stuff".
FUEL FIGURES WRONG:
Motorists are being misled by official car fuel consumption figures, according to checks made by Auto Express magazine in Britain.
Some statistics saying how many miles a vehicle does to the gallon are as much as 20 per cent too high, according to the magazine.
Auto Express editor David Johns said: "The official test is carried out on a mechanical rolling road and bears no comparison to real-life driving on normal roads. Our test team found that on average cars are around 17-20 per cent less economical than the official claims. This discrepancy could cost drivers hundreds of pounds more than they'd bargained for."