31 March 2003: If Sunday, and the first day of the Land Rover G4 Challenge on Broadway was all show, Monday’s activities brought the 16 competitors in the world’s newest and most taxing adventure challenge down to earth with a bump.

31 March 2003: International racing driver Michael Keohane from Clonakilty, Co Cork, will race with the Promatecme F3 team for the opening meeting of the 2003 British F3 Championship.

31 March 2003: Women are much more likely to suffer from acute stress disorder (ASD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than men after an accident, according to studies carried out at the University of New South Wales in Sydney.

31 March 2003: Reigning Irish International Rally Champion Andrew Nesbitt will make his motor racing debut this Saturday (5th April) when he competes in the opening round of the exciting Fiat Punto Abarth Cup at Kirkistown.
 

31 March 2003: Crash rates per mile travelled in North America have decreased by around 40 per cent in the period 1975-1998, according to recent research by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation in Ontario, Canada.

30 March 2003: When the Land Rover G4 Challenge bursts into action in central Manhattan later this afternoon, Ireland’s competitor is stone mason Paul McCarthy of Ventry, County Kerry.

29 March 2003: Construction of the second West-Link Bridge is on-target for completion in September. As construction of the Bridge moves into its final phase, there will be a significant increase in activity in and around the West-Link area in the coming months.

28 March 2003: It is built on an adapted Corsa platform, uses Corsa suspension units, but it is 'not a Corsa derivative' and is wider, higher and longer. It has bits from Astra, and Vectra as well.

28 March 2003: The Skoda Fabia model range has been expanded with the introduction of a new, more powerful 1.2-litre 65bhp engine.

28 March 2003: The second round of the highly competitive 2003 Ford Rallyesport KA Rally Championship, the Circuit of Kerry Rally, takes place on Sunday the 6 April based in Tralee, Co Kerry.

27 March 2003: Ford's latest Focus world rally car has just been unveiled prior to its competition debut on the Rally New Zealand on April 11.

27 March 2003: Upcoming is the world's first hybrid SUV, a Lexus with the standard V6 petrol engine and a pair oe electric motors that provide additional power to the front and rear wheels respectively.

27 March 2003: Monotonous roadside environments can lead to a greater degree of drowsiness and lack of vigilance by drivers, according to a new study carried out by the Center de Recherche sur les Transports at the Universite de Montreal.

26 March 2003: The death of Jean-Luc Lagardère last week was widely reported in the financial press, as the group which carried his name was one of the biggest in France, with a turnover in 2002 of E13.2 bn. His important contribution to the world auto industry was somewhat overlooked.

26 March 2003: Drivers in sleep-related crashes are more likely to work multiple jobs, night shifts, or other unusual work schedules, according to a study by the Highway Safety Research Center at the University of North Carolina.

25 March 2003: Hyundai Ireland has introduced its upgraded Accent, with prices starting from E15,250. The new version of the car, introduced in its current form in 1999, is slightly longer and has been changed front and rear to give it a more 'European' look.

25 March 2003: A new top-of-the-range GTi version of the Peugeot 206 SW has arrived to complete the model line-up. It costs E26,295 and the 2.0 litre engine outputs 138bhp.

24 March 2003: Seventy-four years after production of the Ford Model T ended, Ford Motor Company has built six brand new examples of the car voted 'Car of the Century' by an international group of motoring journalists.

24 March 2003: Leading Citroen car designer Urs Stemmler recently came to meet 35 students who have been offered places on the Bolton St DIT Design Studies course, which has the only car design section in its Transportation module.

24 March 2003: The RAC Foundation has warned that 80% of deaths of front seat occupants could be avoided if everyone belts up in the back.

24 March 2003: National sales companies fully owned by Saab in Europe are to be taken over by Opel, in a cost-cutting measure by Saab owners GM. The move will not affect private importers in countries like Ireland.

24 March 2003: Top Irish international racing driver Michael Keohane (Clonakilty, Co. Cork) completed five back-to-back days of testing last week as he continued his development programme with the new Lola-Dome F106 British Formula 3 Championship challenger.

24 March 2003: Ford has launched a web-based portal, the Ford Learning Network, which integrates all training management, online testing and learning resources in a single place for use by the carmaker's 300,000 employees worldwide.

22 March 2003: The new Opel Meriva mini MPV, which goes on sale in Ireland next month, will initially have three petrol engine options.

22 March 2003: Think this is a Jeep, right? Wrong.

21 March 2003: At Volvo Car Corporation, an all-women team is developing a concept car that goes under the internal working name of MCC, My Concept Car. The finished product will be revealed next year.

21 March 2003: Poised on one runway at the Luke Air Force Base in Goodyear, Ariz., was the United States Air Force's Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon "Viper" fighter jet. Next to it, and prepared for the challenge: America's ultimate sports car, the 500 horsepower Dodge Viper SRT-10.

21 March 2003: The Ford Ireland Focus Rally Championship returns for its second year and the new and improved series will start with the International Rally of the Lakes based in Killarney on 3 and 4 May.

21 March 2003: The Citroën Dealer Network in Ireland has produced another award winning Motor Mechanic. Stephen Dennis, a technician with Lusk Motor Group, recently achieved the top award in the ‘Diesel Technology’ category of the National Apprenticeship Championships held in the Department of Transport Engineering, DIT.

20 March 2003: Smaller versions of the XC90 Volvo SUV may come on stream in coming years, with the arrival of the P1 platform for smaller cars which will underpin both the replacement for the company's 40-Series cars and a number of Ford and Mazda cars.

19 March 2003: Contrary to expectations, BMW's new 5-series is now not likely to be launched before September. There had been speculation that it would come available in some markets during the summer.

19 March 2003: RAC Ireland has issued guidelines for driving in fog, after three days in which early morning fog brought severe driving conditions and distrupted travel.

19 March 2003: GM and its joint venture partner in Russia, Avtovaz, have signed an agreement for the building of the Opel Astra in Russia.

18 March 2003: Some 56 firm Irish orders have been made for the sexy new StreetKa, which goes on sale here in two specification levels, with a starting price of E25,695.

18 March 2003: Opel has launched a new website for people interested in car design.

18 March 2003: BMW has produced special security versions of its new 7-Series and its 3-Series cars, based respectively on the top-of-the-range 760Li and the 330i.

18 March 2003: Toyota Ireland has launched the new Land Cruiser in this market, in a price range between E32,590-E61,320.

18 March 2003: Opel's Zafira compact MPV has been upgraded for 2003 with a discreet chrome surround to the front grille and new head lamps with a similar look and feel to the new Vectra.

15 March 2003: Sixty-nine days into the current year the LCV market is down 8.8 per cent, with just 10,279 light commercial vehicle sales recorded.

15 March 2003: Breda Cahill from the Volkswagen division of Motor Distributors Limited, was recently presented with a Diamond Pin in recognition of her service to the Volkswagen organisation.

14 March 2003: Toyota's new Avensis has gone on sale at a starting price of E24,250, just E600 more than the outgoing car but with a much higher specification.

14 March 2003: BMW is recalling 84,000 X5 SUVs to fix a possible brake fluid leak, according to the US National Highway and Transport Safety Agency (NHTSA).

14 March 2003: Japanese cars increased their share of the European market in the first two months of 2003, from 10.4 per cent to 11.6 per cent, with Toyota topping the Japanese table at 4.6 per cent of 2.2 million cars sold.

13 March 2003: Peugeot has produced its 40 millionth vehicle, after more than 100 years of car manufacturing.

13 March 2003: A unique 'pay as you drive' system of insurance cover is being piloted in Britain by 5,000 volunteer motorists.

13 March 2003: A new V8-engined Audi Allroad will be available in RHD from mid-summer, using the company's 300hp 4.2-litre engine, which allows 0-62mph in 7.2 seconds, and a maximum speed of 149mph.

12 March 2003: A new limited edition Clio will be in all Renault showrooms by the end of this week. The Clio Sensation is aimed to appeal to young drivers, and is powered by a 75bhp 1.2-litre engine.

12 March 2003: The Motor Insurance Justice Action Group - MIJAG - has repeated its call for price controls to be put on the motor insurance industry, and says that the industry positioned itself for the aftermath of the 2000 Motor Insurance Advisory Board report and increased premiums significantly over recent years.

12 March 2003: A Consumer Reports magazine survey says that South Korea's Hyundai now ranks with the top Japanese car manufacturers in reliability for 2002 model year vehicles, after being among the worst for many years. The overall leading brand in the US-based study was Toyota.

11 March 2003: The Peugeot 307 has won two awards from the BBC Top Gear Magazine: 'Best Compact Car' for the 307 hatchback and 'Best Family Car' for the 307 SW.

11 March 2003: Recent research by Ford suggests that young drivers are up to 56 per cent more distracted than adults when operating a mobile phone while driving. But the researchers also found that the retrieval of voicemail using hands-free technology does not significantly distract drivers.

10 March 2003: Honda's latest Accord has been moved up a notch in the D segment to compete against premium cars such as the Audi A4, Volvo S60 and the Lexus IS series. It goes on sale this week at E32,595, though an 'entry-level' version available in April will cost E31,495.

10 March 2003: The sexy-looking Citroen C3 Pluriel which is due to be launched in Ireland later this year is likely to be in short supply because of difficulties in developing the complicated soft top.

10 March 2003: Hybrid petrol-electric cars are likely to prove to be 'greener' than those based on the much-vaunted 'hydrogen economy' until at least 2020, according to a study by the Massachussets Institute of Technology.

07 March 2003: Fiat Auto Ireland is offering a zero percent finance plan on new Seicentos, Puntos and Stilos where the deposit required is as low as 25% of the value of the new car and repayments are spread over 36 months.

07 March 2003: Suggestions made by VW CEO Bernd Pischetsrieder in 2001 that the then-new Skoda Superb would not be continued into a second generation have been somewhat diluted by Skoda's chairman.

07 March 2003: The next-generation Lexus RX300 which received its European debut at this week's Geneva Motor Show (above) will be available to Irish buyers in May.

06 March 2003: The Ford GT, the production version of the GT40 Concept Car, is coming to Europe. Up to 80 of these exclusive, high performance supercars are expected to go to European customers, starting late in 2004.

06 March 2003: New technology from Engelhard Corporation is being used on Renault's Vel Satis luxury car to cut diesel emissions by more than 95%, making the Vel Satis one of the cleanest diesel passenger cars in the world.

06 March 2003: Citroën has added the 1.4 Hdi diesel engine to the Xsara range, and also introduced a new Special Edition 1.4i VTR petrol model Coupé with leather upholstery together with a number of styling enhancements both inside and outside all models.

06 March 2003: The National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) is calling on the Táiniste and Minister for Transport to impose strict preconditions on any access to penalty points by the insurance industry.

05 March 2003: Citroen's C2 Sport concept car revealed at the Geneva Motor Show hints at how a future Citroën motorsport car may look.

05 March 2003: Peugeot driver Richard Burns has moved into the lead of the World Rally Championship after finishing second on the Rally of Turkey at the weekend.

05 March 2003: In reactions to the news of a sharp drop in car sales revealed in the February figures, two key players suggest that the Government's high taxation policies are partly responsible.

05 March 2003: The new, second generation Audi A3 will arrive into Ireland in June.

04 March 2003: The Citroën Xsara of Carlos Sainz and Marc Marti won the Rally of Turkey on its debut in the world rally championship calendar. And Colin McRae and Derek Ringer achieved a well deserved fourth place on one of the roughest terrain of the Championship.

Peugeot: the sublime and the superb

Diesel important in GM's medium future

Next main Peugeot to appeal to younger buyers

Sporty Prius for launch before end of year

GTC confirmed as 'very close' to next Astra

04 March 2003: Motoring organisation RAC Ireland says vehicles driving or swerving onto the hard shoulder show a blatant disregard by some motorists both for the safety of other road users and those working on the hard shoulder.

03 March 2003: Interest in the passenger version of the next generation Toyota Land Cruiser has far exceeded the expectations of Toyota Ireland. The vehicle is due for launch here in a couple of weeks.

03 March 2003: Providing drivers with information and warnings about the distance they're driving behind the vehicle in front can significantly change their driving habits, according to a new study.

03 March 2003: Daewoo has finally released its long-awaited 4-cylinder 1-litre Matiz, as an addition to the 800cc version which has powered this city car since its introduction.

03 March 2003: Nissan has upgraded the 2.2-litre diesel engine in its Primera from the existing 126PS to 138PS.

03 March 2003: Specialist Alfa Romeo international tuning and design house Autodelta will showcase its latest interpretation of the Alfa Romeo 156 GTA sports saloon at the Geneva Show this week.

03 March 2003: Toyota will be exhibiting its FINE-S concept fuel cell car for the first time in Europe at the Geneva International Motor Show this week.

03 March 2003: Motorists contemplating the thought of taking their car on holiday to France this Summer are advised to book early to guarantee the accommodation they require, especially in the peak Summer months.