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Car Designers Blackmailed

A London court has found former design student Guy Lloyd-Parker guilty of blackmailing US car designers. The London College of Fashion graduate had claimed that 95 car design sketches were stolen from him by two college lecturers in 1994, eventually resurfacing as final designs in the form of the Audi TT, BMW Z3, Mazda RX-8 and the Volvo XC90. Lloyd-Parker, having failed to successfully sue the college, began sending menacing letters to California-based Volvo Design Director Geza Loczi, former BMW and Aston Martin designer Henrik Fisker, and ex-Mazda designer Tsutomu Matano demanding £90,000.

Motorists still not switched on to electric cars

Renault A new survey of 3,000 British motorists suggests there is still a long way to go before electric cars become a serious purchasing choice for the majority, with many saying the government isn’t doing enough to promote them. According to the latest Auto Trader Owner’s Guide, only 1% of UK drivers own what it calls an Alternative Fuel Vehicle (AFV). The poll also illustrates some significant age and gender divides, and shows that price continues to be a serious hindrance to more environmentally friendly motoring.

Volvo C30: now starts under £15k

Volvo C30 ES 2.0 - now starts at £14,995 It’s been all change at Volvo in the last year, with the Swedish car maker going from being the last vestige of Ford’s ill-fated Premier Auto Group to the first high-profile car maker to fall to the Chinese resurgence as an economic force. Volvo also has a new boss in former VW man Stefan Jacoby, who has made it clear he doesn’t see Volvo as a ‘Premier’ marque. Not that he’s downplaying what Volvo has to offer, he’d just prefer us to think of Volvo as unique and Swedish rather than in competition with the likes of Mercedes and BMW.