30 January 2003: A new Mitsubishi MPV, which is expected in Ireland next year, will be unveiled to the European motoring public at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show.

30 January 2003: Citroen has announced prices and specifications for the new C8 MPV which is now on sale and can be seen in dealer showrooms.

30 January 2003: The new Daewoo Nubira, to be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March and due to reac showrooms later this summer, will take to the road with a special suspension set-up in tune with European tastes and road conditions.

29 January 2003: We don't know just yet when it becomes available in Ireland, but the 1.4-litre HDi diesel engine already in the C3 and the Ford Focus, as well as a couple of versions of the Peugeot 307, is on the cards for the Citroen Xsara.

29 January 2003: Most of us treat our car with respect but some people have gone completely OTT about theirs. Now, let’s be clear, we’re talking about people on the ‘other island’ off Europe.

28 January 2003: Peugeot’s new top-of-the-range people carrier, the 807, will arrive in Irish dealer showrooms by next month.

28 January 2003: The future of Fiat Auto got a boost from one of its creditor banks today when the financial organisation's CEO suggested a 'spin-off' and a recapitalisation of the division would be a good thing.

28 January 2003: Cars produced by the new GM Daewoo company are to be rebadged as Suzukis for the North American market.

28 January 2003: The Toyota Corolla posted global sales of 1,016,000 units in 2002, an increase of 18.5% over 2001 sales of 857,000 units and making it the globally top-selling car model.

28 January 2003: Citroen has recalled C3s equipped with ABS without ESP, manufactured between 15 September 2002 to 15 January 2003.

27 January 2003: The as yet unlaunched Opel Meriva small MPV has achieved four stars in the latest round of Euro NCAP crash tests, along with the Skoda Superb, BMW X5, Audi TT and MGTF sports car.

27 January 2003: The Citroën Total team had a fantastic start to its first full participation in the World Rally Championship. The Xsaras of Sébastien Loeb – Daniel Elena, Colin McRae – Derek Ringer, Carlos Sainz – Marc Marti took the first three places on the oldest and most famous world rally. Under the management of Guy Fréquelin, the team renewed brilliantly last year’s excellent performance.

27 January 2003: Fiat and Citroën have signed an agreement which renews joint development and manufacturing of new light commercial vehicles (LCVs).

27 January 2003: The UK Transport Research Laboratory has come up with a synthetic road surface called Rippleprint which could replace some current traffic calming systems.

24 January 2003: Paul McCarthy from Ventry has won through to be the Irish representative on the Land Rover G4 Challenge. He's pictured above with team-mate Warren Keogh from Blessington, who was with him on the national selections held this week at Eastnor Castle near Birmingham.

24 January 2003: Two Irish 4x4 enthusiasts are today battling it out in the last lap for one of them to get a place in the final of the biggest 4x4 event of the century - the Land Rover G4 Challenge.

24 January 2003: The Ford Mondeo TDCi has won the UK Diesel Car of the Year at the Fleet Excellence Awards.

23 January 2003: It is now almost upon us here in London, but it is likely to be copied in other major cities soon, including Dublin. Congestion charging is the coming way of beurocrats to deal with traffic. But it looks like Londoners who own Volvo bi-fuel cars will just be laughing, and not have to pay the £5 a day charge due from the middle of next month.

22 January 2003: Harris Autos,  importers and distributors of Kia cars and commercial vehicles in Ireland, who dramatically reduced Kia Rio car and van prices last November by E2,500 have quickly revisited their (very successful) cost cutting strategy.
 

22 January 2003: Automotive giant Continental AG today set the seal on its participation as an official partner of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The agreement was signed in Hanover by Joseph S. Blatter, President of FIFA, and Manfred Wennemer of Continental AG – in the presence of Franz Beckenbauer, the President of the Organising Committee of the 2006 FIFA World Cup™.

22 January 2003: Michael Devaney, Motorsport Ireland’s “Young Racing Driver of the Year” will drive a new SEAT Ibiza this year when he is not competing on the racetrack, thanks to Hispano Cars Ltd, distributor for SEAT in Ireland.

22 January 2003: Michelin engineers have developed a radio frequency identification (RFID) transponder that is manufactured into the tire and stores vital tire identification information.

22 January 2003: Ford Ireland has announced prices for the new Transit TDCi range that has been added to the company's van line-up. Available on front wheel drive versions, the Transit TDCi retails from E21,517 ex-Cork.

21 January 2003: The first of the Mazda2 has just come off the assembly line at the Ford plant in Valencia. Mazda has planned annual production of 40,000 units of this new compact model, destined exclusively for European markets.

21 January 2003: On the basis that the most cost-efficient way to get a new technology onto the mass market is by developing it for military purposes first, General Motors has produced a diesel-hybrid SUV-type truck for the US Army.

20 January 2003: The Society of the Irish Motor Industry is meeting today to discuss how Ireland's motor business will deal with Governments which penally tax the industry.

19 January 2003: The RAC in Britain has abolished its 'targets and rewards' policy on sales of replacement parts by its patrols, following revelations in a BBC 'Rogue Traders' programme that a number of patrols had sold batteries that may not have needed replacing.

19 January 2003: We're used to seeing advertisements on the sides of Dublin taxis and Ryanair planes, but will an idea mooted in the US see our cash-challenged garda cars promoting private businesses?

17 January 2003: The Alfa Romeo Brera has been elected 'Automotive News Concept Car of the Year' in the categories 'Best exterior' and 'Best concept car of the year'.

16 January 2003: In-race tinkering with Formula 1 cars via telemetry has been banned by the sport's ruling body, the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile.

16 January 2003: Fiat Auto Ireland is offering zero per cent finance on most model versions in its Seicento, Punto and new Stilo ranges. The offer applies only to cars purchased and registered by the end of February 2003.

16 January 2003: The Hyundai Getz has 'exceeded expectations in sales in Ireland in the first few weeks of this year, according to importers Hyundai Ireland.

16 January 2003: SEAT's Ibiza supermini was last night named Car of the Year 2003 by What Car?, the UK consumer motoring magazine.

16 January 2003: Irish international soccer star Damian Duff came to Ireland to drive the Hibernian Insurance promotional bandwagon yesterday to highlight the company's 'Ignition' safe driving programme.

16 January 2003: A large number of motorists may be driving around on false documents, such as insurance, tax and NTC tests.

16 January 2003: Toyota, Nissan, DaimlerChrysler and Ford are leading a group of about 20 carmakers and and car parts manufacturers who have decided to work together on fuel cell development for automotive use.

15 January 2003: Toyota achieved a sixth consecutive record year for sales in Europe in 2002, in a year when the overall car market across Europe contracted by 3 per cent.

15 January 2003: Hyundai is upgrading its Accent for the European market, with better performance, a higher specification and improved styling.

14 January 2003: Passengers are 70 per cent more likely not to use seatbelts if the driver doesn't use them.

14 January 2003: Toyota has started building diesel engines at its engine plants in Valenciennes, France and Deeside, UK. The French plant will have the capacity to assemble 30,000 units of the 1.4 D-4D diesel engine annually, in addition to 150,000 petrol engines, for the Toyota Yaris.

14 January 2003: VW aims to produce 180,000 Touran compact MPVs in 2003. The vehicle is based on the next Golf platform.

13 January 2003: Fiat Auto Ireland has announced the appointment of Massimo Minetola as Marketing Director, succeeding Jeff Culkin who has returned to the UK to take up the position of Sales Director for Alfa Romeo.

13 January 2003: Renault has announced changes and upgrades to the Laguna II, just two years after the award-winning car was launched.

13 January 2003: General Motors is to merge Saab's independent product development and manufacturing operations into Opel's, as part of a turnaround strategy for loss-making Saab. It also fits into a strategy to make Opel profitmaking.

13 January 2003: Young drivers across the EU have improved their usage of seatbelts over the 90s, according to the findings of a study by the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College, London.

11 January 2003: Nissan has developed a brake-operated pre-crash seatbelt system designed to further increase occupant safety in the event of a collision.

11 January 2003: American safety experts have criticised car manufacturers for not setting up a standard system for operation of 'crash recorders' in cars, similar to those already used in aircraft.

10 January 2003: Lexus is to put a new hybrid RX four-wheel drive model on the North American market in about two years.

10 January 2003: Robert Taylor, Managing Director, RAC Ireland, has said the controversial 'zero tolerance' speeding order recently issued for the Dublin Metropolitan Area 'smacks of a sledgehammer to crack a nut' and he says he doesn't see it as impacting on road fatalities.

10 January 2003: Panasonic Toyota Racing has launched its contender for the 2003 FIA Formula 1 World Championship to around 400 of the world's media at Circuit Paul Ricard in the south of France.

09 January 2003: DETROIT SHOW - A new Mazda MPV concept unveiled at this week's Detroit Motor Show could be showcasing a production car that will put the brand straight into the lucrative compact MPV area.

09 January 2003: As hundreds of inexperienced young drivers around the country encounter snow and ice on the roads for the first time, driving experts RAC School of Motoring are recommending them to modify their driving techniques to avoid becoming an accident statistic.

08 January 2003: DETROIT SHOW - Mercedes-Benz has released full details of the E-Class estate which was given its world premiere this week at the Detroit Motor Show

08 January 2003: Toyota Ireland strengthened its domination of the Irish passenger car market in 2002 with market share at 11.4% of the passenger car market putting it at number 1 position. 

08 January 2003: Peugeot achieved a substantial 10% increase in their passenger car registrations in 2002 compared to 2001. The increase was the largest growth percentage amongst the top-eight volume sellers in Ireland in 2002, in a market that declined by over 5% year on year.

08 January 2003: An experiment carried out by Canadian researchers seems to indicate that listening to messages via an in-car mobile phone can affect reactions and decision making of drivers.

08 January 2003: Irish Ferries have rolled out their 2003 programme with a range of new travel packages and discounts on their passenger ferry services to Britain.

08 January 2003: Bridgestone Corporation, Continental AG and the Yokohama Rubber Co Ltd are to undertake three-way cooperation in runflat systems.

08 January 2003: Fiat Auto Ireland have fitted an Irish-made state-of-the-art anti-theft ‘tracking’ device to its demonstrator 156 GTA cars to highlight how the latest developments in the systems can give peace of mind to owners of high-value cars.

07 January 2003: DETROIT SHOW - The sixth generation Maxima unveiled at this week's Detroit motor show includes innovations including a new Skyview Roof, with a glass panel running lengthwise over the front and rear seats.

07 January 2003: Traffic control gardai have been told to strictly enforce the 30mph and 40mph speed limits, with no discretionary allowance over the posted speeds as has been normal practice.

06 January 2003: DETROIT SHOW - Audi has drawn on its sporting success in two of the world's most famous races to develop its latest concept car - the Pikes Peak quattro - unveiled at this week's North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

06 January 2003: DETROIT SHOW - It's not a car for the fuel efficient times, more a statement of 'we can be the biggest if we want to'. And whether GM's Caddillac division will ever build the 1,000hp Cadillac Sixteen is another day's story.

06 January 2003: GM is to offer at least seven hybrid petrol-electric vehicles in the US by 2007, including an SUV which could get 40 miles per gallon, an unprecedented figure in the gas-guzzling segment.

05 January 2003: DETROIT SHOW - The BMW MINI has been awarded the title of '2003 North American Car of the Year'.

05 January 2003: DETROIT SHOW - The latest iteration of the legendary Ford Mustang, the original ‘pony car’ that revolutionised the style of automobiles when it was first launched in 1964, has been revealed in concepts form today at the Detroit motor show.

05 January 2003: DETROIT SHOW - A new Lexus RX300 makes its debut today at the Detroit Motor Show. The car loses the rather plain styling of the current SUV in favour of elements introduced in the design of the SportCross versions of the smaller IS series cars.

05 January 2003: Silver was the biggest-selling car colour in 2002, with one third of vehicles produced in the US, Europe and Japan rolling out of showrooms in the shiny glint.

04 January 2003: RAC Ireland has issued guidelines about driving on flooded roads and what to do if your car is affected by flood water.

04 January 2003: 'Clever Car Buying' by Eddie Cunningham has been voted the 'Motoring Consumer Publication for 2003' by Irish Car magazine.

03 January 2003: Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited revealed the all-new Rolls-Royce Phantom this afternoon at the company's new manufacturing plant and head office at Goodwood in West Sussex, UK.

03 January 2003: Toyota has reached another milestone at its Valenciennes plant in France, building the 200,000th Yaris at the site.

03 January 2003: The Ford Focus was Ireland’s best-selling car in 2002, and Ford also took the top spot in commercial vehicles with its Transit.

03 January 2003: Citroën in Ireland increased both car and van market shares in 2002 and now controls 3.9% of the combined Irish car and van market co

03 January 2003: A 5.2 per cent drop in car sales over 2002 could well be signalling that the ‘golden goose’ of the car industry is finally giving up laying its highly taxed eggs for the Government, according to Fiat Auto Ireland.

03 January 2003: A car derived van based on the Peugeot 307 is now available to order in Ireland.

01 January 2003: BMW's small SUV contender, the X3, is now expected to appear in 2004, with a 3-litre engine.

01 January 2003: The second best selling Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) in Ireland now has a new look with revised exterior and interior styling.

01 January 2003: It's the kind of conversion that any 'road-warrior' journalist can dream of. But in this case, it's the brainchild of British property developer Robert Weston, who has had a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van converted to what he terms as a 'Lear jet on wheels'.

01 January 2003: Cannabis is now known to have a significant impairing effect on driving than had been previously thought, according to analysis by improvements in the methodology and technology of laboratory testing over the last decade.