A worrying 12 per cent...
A worrying 12 per cent of cars and vans have at least one defective tyre. In a Tyre Industry Council report, 14 per cent of those tested had less than 2mm of tread, too. A spokesman for the body said: "In our opinion, these weren"t safe and needed replacing immediately." A total of 30,000 tyres were examined for the study.
Hybrids were the talk...
Hybrids were the talk of the town in Detroit ò€“ and none more so than the luxurious Fisker Karma. We first saw the hard-top version back at the 2008 British Motor Show, but Detroit was chosen to reveal a second model in the range - the Karma S convertible.
Featuring the same plug-in hybrid system as the coupe, the Q-DRIVE powertrain encompasses two electric wheel-hub motors powered by lithium-ion batteries, producing the equivalent of 400bhp. Up-front, a range-extending GM-sourced 2.0-litre petrol engine drives a generator to recharge the batteries when theyò€™re running low.
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In electric-only mode, the range is 50-miles but with the engine engaged that can be extended to over 300-miles, with an equivalent fuel economy of 120mpg.
Production of the saloon begins in 2010, with the convertible following soon after.
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