31 December 2001: Opel's all-new Vectra, to be launched in Ireland in March, can see, hear, feel – and even smell. In fact with more than 30 sensors, Vectra has more sensory organs than a human being. Full Story.

28 December 2001 7pm: The marketing thrust for the new Fiat Stilo is going to be one of the most aggressive ever run in this country for a small family segment car, according to Paulo Gagliardo, CEO of Fiat Auto Ireland. Full Story.

28 December 2001: The new MINI has been marketed in London over the festive season with the launch of a gigantic Christmas tree 'sculpture' on the River Thames. The massive construction towered over many of the buildings flanking the river, and provided London with a new landmark over the Christmas season. Full Story.

28 December 2001: An all-new supercharged 4.2 litre S-TYPE R - the most powerful Jaguar saloon ever - and a new 2.5 litre V6 entry model spearhead the launch of an extended and refined S-TYPE range, now eight models strong. Full Story.

28 December 2001: Nissan in Ireland is soon to have a ‘soft-roader’ aimed directly the leader in the niche, the Freelander. The X-Trail comes to Ireland in February, probably with a choice of 2-litre petrol or 2.2-litre turbodiesel. Full Story.

28 December 2001: The Gotthard tunnel through the Swiss Alps has been reopened to traffic nearly two months after a fire that killed 11 people. The swift reopening was achieved despite suggestions that using the tunnel might still be unsafe, but the upside was that it alleviates circuitous alternatives for those travelling from northern Europe to southern Switzerland and Italy. Full Story.

28 December 2001: The motor insurance industry has been accused of being 'shrouded in secrecy', operating a cartel and ripping off young drivers. In one of the hardest hitting attacks on any sector, the special Oireachtas committee on enterprise and small business lambasted its activities. Full Story.

21 December 2001: The new generation Audi Cabriolet comes almost exactly a decade after the debut of the much-loved original in 1992, but Europe-wide demand is extraordinarily strong, with, for example, the total UK allocation for 2002 already presold, even three months before it is due to be launched there. Full Story.

21 December 2001: The Volvo Adventure Car which has up to now been a show concept is to become a reality as the Volvo XC90, Volvo's first production SUV. Full Story.

21 December 2001: Nearly 3 million cars will be equipped with 42-volt batteries by 2006, leading to reduced emissions and better fuel consumption as the job of powering the vastly-increased number of electrical accessories in the modern car is shifted from the engine back to the battery.

Experts promise at least a 10-percent fuel economy improvement, and perhaps much more, though the costs of developing 42-volt systems will probably represent an extra EUR 1,300 per vehicle by then. Full Story.

21 December 2001: 34-year old Pauline Walsh, from Newbridge, Co Kildare, has been awarded the title ‘Woman of the Year 2001’ by the prestigious European trade publication Automotive News Europe.

Pauline is Production Manager at the Ford Genk plant in Belgium, where she has responsibility for some 1,900 staff in the assembly area for the new Ford Mondeo. The publication writes of her role as ‘one of the most important manufacturing jobs in the Ford world’. Full Story.

18 December 2001: Renault says road deaths could be reduced by 40% if all car buyers chose the Laguna II or other cars with a similar crash test performance.

Except that the Laguna II is at the moment the only car to have achieved the maximum 5-star rating in the Euro NCAP crash test programme. So there's really no choice, yet. Full Story.

18 December 2001: It was reported earlier this month that from January, France is to ban sales of cars and farm vehicles more than five years old because of the risk that certain parts may contain asbestos. Full Story.

18 December 2001: Honda's Civic Hybrid saloon which debuted at the Tokyo Motor Show in October and goes on sale this month in Japan, will be available in the US as the first direct competitor to Toyota's Prius from March 2002. The car is almost exactly alike as the conventional model, with differences only to the grille, front fascia and boot lid. Full Story.

18 December 2001: It could be called the 'cleanest car in the world'. The Natrium MPV concept vehicle currently under development by Chrysler uses electric power generated by a fuel cell. But it's a fuel cell with a difference ... because the core fuel converted by the cell is the naturally-occuring chemical borax. Full Story.

17 December 2001: The Mazda 6 saloon body style will be seen in the metal for the first time at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. A newly developed car body platform and styling, which clearly differentiates the Mazda 6 from its predecessors, marks the beginning of what Mazda say will be 'a broad product offensive' in the hotly contested middle range. Full Story.

17 December 2001: Peugeot’s 206 and 307 (2002 European Car of the Year) are now available with the lightweight eight-valve, 68 bhp and 70 bhp 1.4-litre HDi turbodiesel engines respectively, versions of which will also power the upcoming Ford Fiesta. Full Story.

17 December 2001: An automatic switching-on of the hazard warning lights during abrupt deceleration is a feature on the 2002 Citroen Xsara, as announced this week in the line-up for Citroen products for 2002 by the importers, Gallic Distributors. Full Story.

17 December 2001: The Laguna II Hatchback and Sport Tourer 2.2 dCi will go on sale in France in the last two weeks of January 2002.

This new 2.2 dCi 16-valve engine of 150bhp will complete the range of Laguna II common-rail turbodiesel versions which already includes the 1.9 dCi with 100bhp, 110bhp and 120bhp. Full Story.

17 December 2001: Researchers in Indiana in the USA are 'fingerprinting' tyres to pinpoint which elements of a tread design are responsible for the most road noise. They're using computerised analysis at Purdue University and so far have found that most road noise is made by the tread mouldings hitting the road. Full Story.

17 December 2001: Minority ethnic groups and women pay more for their cars in the US than white males, according to a new study. Full Story.

14 December 2001: More than 7,000 MGF roadsters produced between September 2000 and September 2001 are being recalled because of a possible seatbelt problem. Full Story.

14 December 2001: Gallic Distributors Ltd, the Citroën importers in Ireland have announced the appointment of D & R Motors Limited t/a Longford Citroën, Athlone Rd, Longford as Citroën Main Dealers for the Longford Roscommon area. Full Story.

14 December 2001: Saab's first venture into the off-road market is being shown as the 9-3X Cross-Over Coupe, to be unveiled to the public at January's Detroit Motor Show. Full Story.

13 December 2001: The next generation of the SEAT Ibiza will be rolled out in Ireland in April and will challenge a whole new segment from its current supermini slot. In many respects the Ibiza may woo drivers from the Corolla/Golf segment above it. Full Story.

12 December 2001: The new Hyundai Coupe is being launched to dealers next Friday, and will be available in Hyundai showrooms in Ireland from the beginning of January. Full Story.

12 December 2001: As the Christmas Shopping season gets into full swing, the AA has issued a warning to motorists not to let the car criminals spoil their Christmas. Full Story.

11 December 2001: At the recent Gallic Distributors Ltd annual Dealer Conference, the following Dealer awards were announced for outstanding performance in Citroën Car and Van sales, Spare Parts Sales and Service during 2001 and increased levels of Customer Service to their large customer base. Full Story.

11 December 2001: Work is progressing well on the design of UCDR-2, the latest version of a racing car built by a group of engineering students at UCD, according to Dr William Smith, Department of Mechanical Engineering. This year's team comprises 24 new final-year undergraduates, and two postgraduates who were undergraduate members of last year's team. Support and encouragement are also being provided by the four postgraduates who were responsible for UCDR-1. Full Story.

10 December 2001: Once a year servicing for modern cars and vans is now commonplace, reflecting the improvement in product reliability levels achieved by most vehicle manufacturers.

But RAC breakdown statistics show that the top 10 list of most common call-out faults last year was again dominated by battery and tyre problems. Full Story.

10 December 2001: The new Toyota Corolla is not just a better-looking car than its predecessors, it is also stronger and cheaper to repair. Full Story.

7 December 2001: The 25th edition of the Irish Motorsport Annual is now on sale. Edited by Michael O'Carroll, it has a list of quality writers - Sammy Hamill, Declan Quigley, Brian Patterson, Martin Walsh, Padraig Reddington, 'Plum' Tyndall, Colm Doherty, Richard Young, Louise Condon, Andreas Freidrichs, Michael Lyster, Vincent Hogan, David Kennedy, Russell Murphy, Austin Shinnors, Leo Nulty, Linda Keen, John Kenny and the redoubtable cynic Toby Incher. Full Story.

6 December 2001: Nissan has recalled a number of cars to deal with faulty engine sensors. They include 1.5 and 1.8-litre Almera models; the 1.8-litre Almera Tino; and 1.6 and 1.8-litre Primera. Full Story.

6 December 2001: An EU directive will help drivers involved in accidents abroad to quickly process their insurance claims. The directive says insurers must have a representative in each EU country so that all those involved have somebody 'local' to talk to about their claims and difficulties. Full Story.

5 December 2001: A new Hyundai Sonata on sale in Ireland from 2 January features new exterior styling and a restyled interior; as well as for the first time a 2.7 V6 engine and the H-matic automatic gearbox jointly developed with Porsche. Full Story.

4 December 2001: Volkswagen directors have agreed a plan to split the company into two broad product groups — one led by Volkswagen, the other by Audi. Full Story.

3 December 2001: Toyota has officially shown its new Corolla range in Ireland, and it is a car which is going to make some of the established competition sit up and take notice. Full Story.

3 December 2001: The Fiat Stilo Abarth Rally was one of the attractions of this year's Bologna Motor Show. The car is derived from the Stilo 1.8 16v version and has been revised to meet international FIA Group N standards. Full Story.

3 December 2001: A new RAC sponsored survey in the UK suggests that a large number of young people are unaware of the dangers of drinking and driving, even after years of being blitzed with information to the contrary. Full Story.

3 December 2001: DaimlerChrysler AG has recalled 43,000 of its 2002 Chrysler PT Cruiser and Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs to fix faulty software which could cause the instrument cluster to go dark. Full Story.