29 April 2002: Volvo has announced a number of styling and running gear changes to its S40 and V40 cars from mid-year. Full Story.

29 April 2002: Peugeot has released details of its upcoming 307 Estate, which increases the versions number of its European Car of the Year winner to four - hatchback, saloon, Sky Wagon (SW) and now the estate. Full Story.

29 April 2002: The ‘1-litre’ car recently showcased by Volkswagen, which has shattered world vehicle economy records, displays a host of innovative touches. However, the most accessible of the technologies displayed by the prototype is its high-pressure Unit Injector System (UIS) by Bosch. Full Story.

29 April 2002: Airton Motor Centre, Europe’s largest, most modern Fiat/Alfa Romeo motor service centres was officially opened in Dublin last week by Tom Kitt TD, Minister for Labour, Trade & Consumer Affairs. Airton Motor Centre is located on the increasingly busy Airton Road in the rapidly expanding suburb of Tallaght and has 30 service bays to cater for both cars and light commercial vehicles. Full Story.

26 April 2002: The new SEAT Ibiza goes on sale in Ireland from May 3 in 3- and 5-door hatchback versions, with three specification levels - Stella, Sport and Signo. There will be five engines - three petrol and two diesel - ranging from a new 1.2-litre 3-cylinder 65bhp petrol engine to the most powerful diesel engine available in any supermini, the 130bhp 1.9 TDi linked to a 6-speed gearbox which can do the 0-62mph in 9.4 seconds. Full Story.

25 April 2002: Global cumulative sales of Toyota hybrid vehicles have topped the 100,000 mark, with nearly 103,000 units sold by the end of March this year, representing a 90% share of the world hybrid vehicle market. Full Story.

25 April 2002: The Citroen Picasso Road Show has helped sell over 800 Picassos in the first three months of the year, according to importers Gallic Distributors. Full Story.

24 April 2002: The new Mercedes-Benz CLK was officially launched in Ireland last night at an event for existing and prospective M-B customers, but against a background of the fact that virtually all the 240 or so copies which will be available this year have already been sold. Full Story.

24 April 2002: Ferrari's fastest ever supercar, codenamed the FX, is powered by a 6-litre V12 engine generating 650bhp and with a 0-60 performance of 3.2sec. It has a 7-speed gearbox and paddle-control gears. Full Story.

24 April 2002: The Jordan F1 team has announced the immediate departure of its managing director Trevor Foster and its head of engineering Tim Holloway, and the impending departure of its chief operating officer John Putt. Full Story.

22 April 2002: Peugeot 206 WRC driver Marcus Grönholm won the fifth round of the FIA World Rally Championship, the Cyprus Rally. Full Story.

22 April 2002: The wet weather conditions suited Glanmire's Alan Dwyer to a tee as he romped away into the distance in the opening round of the Ford of Ireland Formula Ford Championship at Mondello Park on Sunday. Full Story.

22 April 2002: The subsidies of an estimated $300m a year which are being spent on hybrid-powered cars by major manufacturers would be better spent on bringing closer the use of fuel cell-powered vehicles, according to the General Motors vice-president for research, Dr Larry Burns. Among other projects, he is in charge of GM's revolutionary AUTOnomy fuel-cell car (above). Full Story.

Sleep kills more than drink - research

22 April 2002: Volkswagen in Mexico has launched its Passat Protect, an armour-plated version of its key model, with a price-tag of $80,000. Between it and Audi equivalents, the company expects to sell some 160 units a year against a background of rampant crime, a police force riddled with corruption and a growing conviction that authorities were powerless to guarantee safe streets. Full Story.

20 April 2002: Peugeot’s new 307 Sky Wagon will sell in Ireland for 22,550 euros for the 1.6-litre petrol version and a 2-litre HDi 90bhp will cost 24,550. Full Story.

20 April 2002: London was the first European stop in BMW’s CleanEnergy World Tour 2002, which aims to promote the introduction of hydrogen as the fuel of the future and to establish partnerships with other organisations to help make this a reality. Full Story.

19 April 2002: Opel has begun a campaign to make car owners aware that they should replace their pollen filters every 15,000-20,000 miles. Full Story.

19 April 2002: Fujio Cho, President of Toyota Motor Corporation, and Jean-Martin Folz, Chairman of PSA Peugeot Citroën, have officially broken ground for their joint plant in Kolin, 60 kilometers east of Prague in the Czech Republic. Full Story.

18 April 2002: It is 75 years since the first Volvo car was produced on 14 April 1927 and since then the company has estanbished itself as one of the best known car companies in the world. Full Story.

18 April 2002: The Government should invest extra resources to target the 55 million people in Britain who are potential visitors to this country, according to Eamonn Rothwell, group managing director of Irish Ferries. Full Story.

17 April 2002: MG Rover has built the 1.5 millionth MG car since production began in 1924, a new MG TF 160 of the kind shown above. In celebration of the British queen’s Golden Jubilee, it is painted in new Monogram Supertallic paint ‘Jubilee’ Gold and finished with special Jubilee badging. Full Story.

16 April 2002: It took three years to officially quantify what we all knew in our guts. The cost of motor insurance in Ireland is now truly seen as just another in the great rip-offs suffered by Irish motorists. Full Story.

16 April 2002: Nissan has entered Japan’s subcompact (tiny city car) market with the MOCO, a vehicle built by Suzuki. The MOCO is available in both two- and four-wheel drive forms. Full Story.

16 April 2002: Volkswagen has revealed the most economical road car in the world - the ‘1-litre car’ (or capable of 285 mpg). The prototype, which until now has been kept closely under wraps, and which many people never believed could be built, was driven under its own power from Wolfsburg to the Annual VW Shareholders Meeting in Hamburg. Full Story.

16 April 2002: Police in Canada are handing out morgue toe-tags to motorists who don't wear seatbelts and asking them to fill in their own names as deceased and details of their next of kin. Full Story.

16 April 2002: To coincide with the Punchestown National Hunt Festival the famous Ferrari ‘prancing horse’ symbol will fly proudly in Co Kildare next week in honour of the Ferrari F2000 Formula 1 car which goes on display at Paddy Corcoran Motors, Monasterevin on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 23rd and 24th. Full Story.

16 April 2002: The top dislike for motorists in a UK survey was 'people who encourage you to drink alcohol when you are driving'. The annoyance was listed by 78% of those questioned among 50 pet hates found in the Forecourt Television (FTV) survey. Full Story.

15 April 2002: Toyota Motor Europe Marketing and Engineering (TMME) sold an all-time record 204,353 units in the period from January to March 2002, an increase of some 15%over the first quarter of 2001. TMME also enjoyed all-time record unit sales for the month of March, with 85,791 units sold - an increase of 17% over the same month last year. Full Story.

15 April 2002: MG Rover Group has signed a business and marketing partnership with Caterham Cars, the specialist British sportscar manufacturer. Full Story.

12 April 2002: Meath County Council today opened the 11m euros Enfield Relief Road, easing a traffic bottleneck on the N4 between Enfield and Kilcock and saving motorists up to 30 minutes on trips between Dublin and the West at peak times. Full Story.

12 April 2002: Citroën have extended their customer cash back deal until the end of June next. Buy any new Xsara car and get a cash back cheque for 750 euros or buy any Xsara Picasso MPV and get 1,000 euros cash back.

This offer is available on the Xsara Car range and the Xsara Picasso MPV range.

Full Story.

12 April 2002: BMW is to start pre-production assembly of a new 6-Series car early in 2003. The car is believed to use plastic body parts and even some panels made of composite materials in its construction, in addition to steel and aluminium. Full Story.

12 April 2002: The use of speed cameras in Hawaii has been stopped after a vandalism campaign by motorists, who smashed the equipment and hurled rubbish at operators. Full Story.

12 April 2002: Empty chairs in spaces reserved for politicians told a tale last night at a public meeting in the Green Isle Hotel, organised by the Motor Insurance Justice Action Group. Full Story.

12 April 2002: After consecutive wins in three of the season's sprint rounds, namely Sweden, Corsica and Catalonia, Peugeot is getting ready for a challenge of a very different nature in Cyprus. The loose tracks of the Mediterranean island will effectively kick off a sequence of four events that promise to be particularly punishing for the mechanicals. For the fifth round of the year, Peugeot has entered three 206 WRCs for Richard Burns, Marcus Grönholm and Harri Rovanperä. Full Story.

11 April 2002: Irish prices for the 2-litre ‘entry level’ X-Type Jaguar were announced yesterday, with the Classic specification at 42,865 euros, the Sport at 47,865 euros and the Luxury version at 49,565 euros. Full Story.

11 April 2002: A right-hand-drive version of Maserati’s new Spyder GT is now available in the UK at a price of around 109,000 euros. Full Story.

11 April 2002: A new 7-seat compact MPV pitched against the Opel Zafira will be the first European car on a new Ford platform which will be used for the next Focus, Mazda3, and Volvo 40 series. And it will be designed to take all-wheel-drive, opening up a whole new SUV possibility in the class for the Ford group of brands. Full Story.

11 April 2002: Young drivers from all over the Dublin Region will converge on the Green Isle Hotel on the Naas Road this Thursday evening at 8pm to meet representatives of political parties about the cost of motor insurance. Full Story.

11 April 2002: A range of ZF’s new myTronic automatic gearboxes suitable for all cars is being developed by the company following the production of the world’s first 6-speed stepped autobox for passenger cars installed in the latest Jaguar S-Type. Full Story.

11 April 2002: Up to 400 second-hand Mercs will be offered to the public at the eighth annual Mercedes-Benz Used Car Sale, which will be held on the weekend of 20/21 April at the Irish Kennel Club’s National Show Centre near Dublin Airport. Full Story.

10 April 2002: BMW will add two long wheelbase models to the 7-series range, the 735Li and 745Li. They are likely to be available from mid-summer. Full Story.

10 April 2002: Two British adventurers have crossed the Bering Strait from the North American continent to Asia in an 'ultimate all-terrain' vehicle called Snowbird 6, though they had to content themselves with going half-way and reaching the international dateline after Russia refused to let them cross the border. Full Story.

10 April 2002: Kildare Senator John Dardis says the building of a motorway from Kilcullen to Waterford ‘would be a waste of public money’. Full Story.

10 April 2002: A new pop-up car head rest devised by Saab will reduce whiplash injuries to motorists, particularly women. Full Story.

9 April 2002: The Concept M Opel Corsa-based vehicle shown at the Geneva Motor Show is very close to the production version of a mini MPV to be launched next year by Opel. Full Story.

9 April 2002: Consumer demands for better fuel economy, pressure on carmakers to reduce CO2 emissions and the introduction by manufacturers of more advanced diesel engine technology are the key factors that are helping to fuel the continued rise in diesel passenger car sales across Europe, according to the latest report by independent technology provider Ricardo Consulting Engineers. Full Story.

9 April 2002: Ten per cent of motorists would just drive off if they scraped the side of an empty parked car, according to a UK survey. Full Story.

9 April 2002: The new Enfield Relief Road will be officially opened by Noel Dempsey TD, Minister for the Environment and Local Government, on Friday, 12th April 2002, when he cuts the ribbon and allows the first traffic onto the new road at 10.30am. Full Story.

8 April 2002: David Shannon has taken over the position of Managing Director, Killeen Motor Group, which incorporates Toyota Ireland and Lexus Ireland, on the retirement of the current Managing Director, Denis Smyth. In addition, Mr Shannon will retain his role as Managing Director of Toyota Ireland. He joined the Group in 1976. Full Story.

8 April 2002: Ford Motor Company is combining the latest hybrid electric vehicle technology with an advanced new fuel cell to create an all-new, highly efficient, zero-emissions Ford Focus. Full Story.

8 April 2002: For the third successive year, Fiat Auto’s Multipla six-seater mini-MPV has been voted Best Family Car by BBC Top Gear Magazine and the Top Gear TV programme. Full Story.

6 April 2002: Tipperary Raceway plays host to the National Hot Rod Irish Grand Prix next weekend (April 13/14) and there will be no shortage of drivers from Ireland's home grown talent and the UK bidding for title honours, including European Champion, Mark Willis, who came, saw and conquered at his first visit to Rosegreen last October. Full Story.

5 April 2002: The music you listen to whilst driving can have a severe impact on your performance behind the wheel, according to the RAC. The comments follow the publication of new research from Israel, which showed that uptempo music caused drivers to have double the amount of accidents as those listening to slower music. Full Story.

4 April 2002: The Volvo Adventure Concept Car 2 (ACC2) which was shown at last month's Geneva Motor Show will be the basis for a more sporty and rough-terrain vehicle than the XC90 which comes to Ireland in October and was itself born of the ACC1. Full Story.

4 April 2002: Rathdown Motors has been appointed to the Irish Peugeot Dealer Network. Established in 1984, the dealership employs 36 people in their Sales and After-sales Departments in Terenure, Dublin. Open 6 days a week, Rathdown Motors will offer a sales, service and parts facility for the Peugeot passenger car and light commercial range. Full Story.

4 April 2002: A British inventor has designed solar powered cat's eyes which switch on during fog and turn red when a driver is too close to the car in front. Full Story.

3 April 2002: A turbocharged MazdaSpeed Protegé (323 in Europe) will be introduced to the US market in the fourth quarter of 2002. This is the first use of the MazdaSpeed name on a street-legal Mazda in North America.

The car's 2.0-litre four-cylinder powerplant is fitted with a Garrett T25 turbocharger, high-performance air-to-air intercooler, and Tochigi Fuji Sangyo KK Super limited-slip differential. Full Story.

3 April 2002: A new high-powered Ford Focus is now available in Ireland which recalls the heyday of Ford performance vehicles based on mainstream cars. Full Story.

3 April 2002: Is this an indication of what we'll see in the next incarnation of the Opel Astra? It's the new Saturn ION, the specialist smaller US manufacturing arm of GM. It debuted at this week's New York Motor Show and will go on sale in the fourth quarter of 2002. Full Story.

3 April 2002: When the Gardai and the young people of this country both agree school children should be taught how to drive as part of the Leaving Certificate curriculum, then it is time the Government took heed. Full Story.

2 April 2002: Toyota Ireland has joined the property website MyHome.ie in an online advertising partnership which will target customers with price-specific Toyota products based on their search for homes of different price bands. Full Story.

2 April 2002: Mazda has introduced a revised B-Series Pickup with three cab options - Regular, Stretch and Double Cab. The vehicle is powered by a choice of 2.5-litre diesel engines, normally-aspirated or turbo-diesel. Full Story.

2 April 2002: Opel vehicles are the stars of one of main attractions at the new Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Resort in Paris. The ‘Stunt Show Spectacular’ features a special ‘hero car’ designed by Opel being chased by six Corsa GSis through the streets of a ‘Mediterranean Village’. Full Story.

2 April 2002: Toyota, the world's third-biggest carmaker, is aiming to capture around 15 percent of the global vehicle market by the early 2010s, compared with about 10 percent now. Full Story.

2 April 2002: The Peugeot 307 has won the Auto Express Car of the Year Award. Votes from racing drivers, technical experts, journalists and thousands of readers of Auto Express and 13 other sister titles across Europe were all added up to find the winner – and the French hatch came top. Full Story.