China ended 100 years of US dominance of the motor industry yesterday when it was officially named the world’s biggest car market, the Daily Mail reports.
Days after it was confirmed as the largest global exporter, China broke an American stranglehold which had started with the development of the Ford Model T.
The figures underline the country’s growing status and power in the world. It is also on track to supplant Japan as the world’s second largest …

1,994,999 new cars were registered last year, and the number of new cars sold in 2009 dipped only 6.4%.
Car sales were boosted by the Government’s “cash-for-bangers” car-scrappage scheme, introduced in May, the Independent reports.
December sales were 38.9% up on those of the same month in 2008.

Car maker Ford are to sell their Swedish business, Volvo Cars, to China’s car company Geely, the BBC reports.
Ford said  that while some work still remains to be completed, they anticipate a definitive sale agreement in the first quarter.
Ford put Volvo up for sale a year ago to help pay off their debt and make their business more focused.
Geely were named preferred bidder in November. If completed, Volvo will be the largest purchase by a …

The Ford Focus has been voted the most popular car of the decade in a poll by Auto Trader magazine, the Daily Telegraph reports.
It beat off the challenge of the Ford Fiesta, with the BMW 3 Series third, the Ford Mondeo fourth and the Vauxhall Astra fifth.
The Fiat Panda was voted best value for money car, while the ”greenest” vehicle of the decade was the Toyota Prius.
The car ”beyond your wildest dreams” title went to …

Motorists who leave their cars running on frosty mornings to warm up the engine and clear the windscreen could face being fined under anti-pollution rules this winter, the Daily Mail reports.
Drivers are being told that leaving a car idling for more than a couple of minutes wastes fuel, and they could be served with on-the-spot fines of up to £40. However motoring groups have warned that the rules should not be used to stop …

Brawn GP Formula One team boss Ross Brawn says that the world’s major car manufacturers will return to Formula 1 in the future, autosport.com reports.
Formula 1 lost three car makers over the last 12 months following the exits of Honda, BMW and now Toyota, who announced last week that they were pulling out of the sport with immediate effect. Japanese tyre maker Bridgestone have also revealed they will quit the sport at the end of next …

Russia’s largest carmaker Avtovaz are on the verge of bankruptcy and need to cut almost 50,000 jobs if they are to have any hope of survival, AFP reports.
Avtovaz will at the start of next year have £1.6million of debts, excluding £200,000 owed to suppliers.
Restructuring such debts is “impossible under market conditions”, Deputy Industry Minister Andrei Dementiev said, adding that this means that Avtovaz bear “all the signs envisaged under the legislation for bankruptcy”.
The Lada carmaker …

The “new” General Motors which have emerged from bankruptcy are going to focus more on customers (who did they focus on before???) and they’re in partnership with eBay for people to buy vehicles by online auctions.
Company’s CEO Fritz Henderson said that the “new” GM will be far faster and more responsive to customers than the old one, and will make money and repay government loans faster than required, FoxNews reports.
Henderson promised that they will repay …

Scientists claim to have invented a ’self-healing’ coating that repairs scuffs or blemishes on paint when exposed to sunlight.
It apparently takes 15 to 30 minutes for scratches to melt away, and a car’s paintwork could be restored to the condition it was in when it left the showroom.
In fact, the self-healing material’s creators believe it could be used on any objects vulnerable to scratches – including compact discs, sunglasses, iPod screens, handbags, shoes and even …