What's happening in the motor industry? Andrew Hamilton's weekly digest
• Petrol is surging upwards in price with the AA reporting a litre of unleaded petrol now costing an average of 91.5 cent. Diesel also rose sharply, with an average pump price of 80.3 cent per litre. Conor Faughnan of the AA says the increase represents 12 per cent in the past two months.
• The average family car now costs an extra €15 a month compared to March. But the AA again advises motorists to shop around. One of the most expensive areas is Donegal. Retailers there benefit from the huge number of Northern Ireland motorists and their prices reflect this expanded market.
• Toyota has just presented a new clean diesel engine called D-CAT (Diesel-Clean-Advanced Technologies). The company aims to be the environmental leader in Europe's ever-growing diesel segment. D-CAT comes to market next year.
• After 20 years as managing director of Gallic Distributors, the Citroën franchise holder in Ireland, James Wyse has decided to step down at the end of August. The board of directors has appointed him chairman.
Wyse will be succeeded by Paul Cregan, currently sales and marketing director. He has been with the company since 1983. Eamon Doogan takes over as finance director with immediate effect - he has been financial controller for over 20 years. Bryan Wallace, a commerce graduate from NUI Galway, is the new financial controller.
• Last week in our Help Desk, Fergus Finlay, spokesman for the Irish LPG assocation, claimed that LPG here retailed at 45.65 cent per litre. "I was wrong," he says. "This figure was given to me but it actually related to pence per litre. The actual recommended retail price of LPG is 57.96 cent a litre, although this may vary among retailers."
• The new Nissan Primera, entered by Windsor Deansgrange and driven by John Horan from Churchtown, has won this year's MG Car Club/Irish Shell Economy Run. John, with Alistair Lindsay navigating, achieved 57.72 miles per gallon in the 1.6 litre car, over a route of 168 miles of mixed driving. This figure is then multiplied by the weight of the car in tonnes to give a miles per gallon per ton figure of 74.26. John has competed in the event for 37 consecutive years - this is his fifth win.