28 February 2002: If you're a brash flaunter of your wealth, and lack the taste to motor in a refined style, your car has arrived. Full Story.

28 February 2002: BMW is set to pull the wraps from a new concept car at the Geneva Motor Show. Dubbed the CS1, it offers the first glimpse of BMW’s design philosophy when applied to a small car, indicating possible future exterior styling themes for a model of this size – in this case a four-seater convertible. Full Story.

28 February 2002: The Geneva Motor Show will provide the first opportunity for many members of the public to see two new SEAT models in the metal – the new Ibiza, and the brand new, high performance Leon Cupra R (above). Full Story.

27 February 2002: Nissan’s new Primera goes on sale in Ireland this week with an expectation of sales of 9,000 units between now and the end of 2003. Full Story.

27 February 2002: Fiat is to absorb the 1% increase in VAT on cars due from 1 March for a month and then will ‘review its position’ for April, Fiat Auto Ireland MD Michael Howe announced last night. Full Story.

27 February 2002: The all new Citroën C8 MPV replacement for the Synergie will be the stand leader at next week’s Geneva Motor Show. It will share the limelight with the new C3 supermini, due in Ireland in April, and which was launched at last autumn’s Frankfurt Show. Full Story.

27 February 2002: Candidates who ignore the 'unacceptable state' of insurance costs for drivers will suffer the consequences at the ballot box, National Youth Council of Ireland representatives told Minister of State Noel Treacy TD yesterday during what they term a ‘crisis meeting’. Full Story.

26 February 2002: Kia will unveil a new premium SUV called Sorento at the Geneva Motor Show. The car will extend Kia’s line-up to eight models. Full Story.

26 February 2002: The luxury automotive brand Maybach will be appearing in front of an international audience for the first time in more than 60 years at the Geneva Motor Show. Full Story.

26 February 2002: The Hyundai HCD7 concept car which made its debut at the recent Chicago Auto Show is the product of the California-based Hyundai Design Centre, which also produced last year’s HCD6 open-topped roadster concept and the Santa Fe SUV. Full Story.

26 February 2002: Toyota is planning to launch a hydrogen-powered fuel-cell vehicle for commercial use by next year. The company's environmentally friendly FCHV-4 SUV-look vehicle will go on sale in the Tokyo area by the summer of 2003. Full Story.

25 February 2002: Honda’s latest CR-V will be on sale in March at a starting price of 34,365 euros. The new model is longer, wider and taller than its predecessor, which has been the biggest-selling petrol-engined SUV in Europe since 1998. Over a million copies have been sold worldwide. Full Story.

25 February 2002: The world premiere of the Mazda MX Sport Runabout at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show will demonstrate the standards Mazda aims to achieve in small car lifestyle packaging and class-leading driving dynamics. Full Story.

25 February 2002: Audi is unveiling the latest and most powerful member of the A2 model line at the 2002 Geneva Motor Show: the A2 1.6 FSI. Full Story.

25 February 2002: British motorists could face monthly bills for their road use, calculated by in-car satellite navigation systems. The scheme, which is part of a plan to reduce congestion, would replace the current annual car tax. Full Story.

25 February 2002: A bonnet that slants backwards and upwards, bumpers that crumble and headlight surrounds that prevent glass breaking will make cars of the future safer – for pedestrians. Full Story.

22 February 2002: The Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution 2+2 to be shown at Geneva is powered by a Mitsubishi 4.7-litre V8 engine and represents the company's vision of the 'ultimate four-wheel drive (4WD) town car'. Full Story.

22 February 2002: A US car rental company that has levied more than $13,000 in speeding fines on its customers has been ordered to repay the money to the offenders. Full Story.

21 February 2002: Peugeot is exhibiting two ‘RC’ concept cars at this year’s Geneva Motor Show. These 2+2 coupés both feature vast, long and steeply raked windscreens, and have a distinctly feline look with a clear family resemblance to the current generation of Peugeot road cars. Full Story.

The new Vel Satis luxury car from Renault, photographed in France today by Irishcar.com.

19 February 2002: Renault is targeting the Audi A6 and the 5-series BMW with its new Vel Satis luxury car, which will launch in Ireland on 12 April. Full Story.

Opel Ireland MD Iede Aukema and marketing manager Micheaela Dennehy with the new Vectra GTS in Barcelona last night.

18 February 2002: Opel’s new Vectra will go on sale in Ireland in June, though the car will be introduced to the Irish motoring public at the Motor Show section of the Ideal Homes Exhibition in the RDS, Dublin, on St Patrick’s weekend. Full Story.

18 February 2002: The new Saab 9-5 2.2 TiD range is likely to arrive in Ireland after sometime in March. The car is powered by a 120 bhp engine with double overhead camshafts, 4 valves per cylinder, direct injection and pilot injection, plus a variable nozzle turbine turbo and intercooler system. Balancer shafts and a dual-mass flywheel help to reduce noise and vibrations. The peak torque of 280 Nm is produced from just 1,500 rpm. Full Story.

18 February 2002: Daihatsu’s Cuore minicar range has been upgraded for 2002 to provide 64 mpg-plus fuel economy, reduced exhaust emissions, greater refinement, livelier acceleration, and new interior trim. Full Story.

15 February 2002: The new Managing Director of Fiat Auto Ireland has called on the Government to abolish Vehicle Registration Tax. And Michael Howe said that the issue of excessive, unjust and anti-competitive taxation on Irish motorists in the form of the Vehicle Registration Tax should be made an election issue by every motorist in the country.

Mr Howe argued that VRT is unique amongst EU members and pointed out that it is ‘a tax on top of a tax and is in breach of the spirit of the Open Market concept on which the EU was founded’. Full Story.

15 February 2002: The new VW Polo has arrived in Ireland. Available in 3- and 5-door formats, the car has power options of a pair of 1.2-litre 3-cylinder and a 1.4-litre 4-cylinder petrol, as well as a normally-aspirated 1.9-litre diesel and a 1.4-litre turbodiesel. Full Story.

15 February 2002: Lexus has upgraded its IS series of cars with the addition of new safety features and improved driving characteristics to its 200 versions and the introduction of the IS 300 and SportCross to the range. Full Story.

15 February 2002: The new Toyota Corolla was recently named Car of the Year 2002 by What Car? magazine. The Corolla, which also claimed the award for Best Small Hatchback, beat off competition from 17 other award winners for this prestigious title. Full Story.

14 February 2002: Lawyers for DaimlerChrysler AG and AM General Corp have opened trial in Toledo, Ohio, on Daimler’s attempt to stop AM General from introducing an SUV with a seven-slot grille similar to that on the Jeep, wihich is built in Toledo. Full Story.

14 February 2002: PSA Peugeot Citroën has exceeded its sales target of three million vehicles for 2001, with strong growth lifting worldwide sales to 3,134,000 units from 2,816,000 in 2000. Full Story.

14 February 2002: Lexus has scored for the third year in a row the highest position in the 2002 What Car? awards for car security. The LS430, winner for the second consecutive year, follows on from the award success in 2000 with the IS200. The LS430 and the IS200 are the only cars ever to score the maximum 100 points in the annual test. Full Story.

14 February 2002: The Chinese sign of the Zodiac under which you were born can say a lot about you as a motorist! According to the RAC 's Chinese astrology almanac, certain traits of the signs can even determine the type of car you drive. Full Story.

12 February 2002: Mazda will reveal its full new model range of the Mazda6 at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show. Full Story.

11 February 2002: The Opel Corsa has been rated the best small car in a series of crash tests conducted by the Austrian OAMTC, the German ADAC and other European automobile clubs. Full Story.

11 February 2002: A survey conducted last month among Irish motoring journalists has revealed the Escort as the favourite model to bear the famous blue oval. Of 22 writers who cast their votes, six plumped for the legendary family classic, but in many different guises. These ranged from the fiery Cosworth - ‘a demon machine that went like the hammers of hell’ - to the ‘coke-bottle shaped’ RS 1600 and Mark 1 Mexico model (‘my first car, a great car’). Full Story.

11 February 2002: Ashley Motors in Dublin has become one of only three dealers in Ireland to gain accreditation under the Ford Authorised Bodyshop Programme. Full Story.

11 February 2002: It is for any manufacturer who produces a cabriolet a niche product. But there’s an image factor involved. John Hayes of Audi in Ireland describes the cabrio buyers as ‘an influential segment’. Dave Smith of MG talks of soft-tops as being ‘iconic’. Full Story.

11 February 2002: A £1 million saving in petrol and road tax would be the reward for a company with a fleet of a thousand conventional cars if it switched to the Toyota Prius petrol-electric hybrid car through Toyota Fleet. That's the view of Sodexho, the UK’s leading catering and support services provider, which has conducted a three-month evaluation of the Toyota Prius. Full Story.

11 February 2002: The average traffic speed in central London is now just 9.9mph, the slowest since the horse and cart era. Full Story.

11 February 2002: Fancy a short stay in Britain with your own car and all the personal things that it allows you to holiday with? Full Story.

8 February 2002: German-based marques did best in Ireland in the first month of car sales here, according to the VRT registrations issued by the Revenue Commissioners. The market was down 6.45% on the same month in 2001, with 31,193 units sold. Full Story.

8 February 2002: Sparks might fly with the latest addition by the London Metropolitan Police Force to their car fleet. Full Story.

8 February 2002: Ford has officially launched details of its Fusion ‘Urban Activity Vehicle’ which, they say, ‘distills the best aspects of small hatchbacks, MPVs and SUVs’. Full Story.

8 February 2002: One third of all accidents happen during the hours of darkness, despite the fact that there are only one-fifth the number of cars on the road as during daytime. Full Story.

8 February 2002: DaimlerChrysler launched its concept two-seater concept crossblade as a production vehicle. The vehicle has no roof or doors and instead of a windscreen it features a narrow wind deflector. Full Story.

7 February 2002: The new Range Rover has been voted Car of the Year 2002 by the BBC's Top Gear Magazine. And Fiat's Multipla has won its segment for the third year running. Full Story.

7 February 2002: More than 60% of drivers questioned in an RAC survey admitted to having driven while sleepy. A startling 8% said that they had, at some time, nodded off momentarily at the wheel. Almost a third of drivers said that they felt more stressed, angry and more likely to confront other drivers when they were tired. Full Story.

7 February 2002: The Toyota Prius hybrid has won the Fleet Excellence Gold Award at an awards event in London where readers of Fleet Management and Fleet Week voted for the car in recognition of its practicality and versatility as an alternative fuel car. Full Story.

7 February 2002: Motorists in Zurich were locked out of the world's first fully automated car park when it went wrong. Full Story.

6 February 2002: The latest version of MG Rover’s small sports car, the MG TF, will be available for sale in Ireland in March, and will have an entry-level version which is 500 euros cheaper than the current car’s least expensive version here. Full Story.