Britain

Britain is stepping up to the man. The island nation is moving to stop a proposal that would allow member countries of the European Union to enforce traffic violations across international borders. The legislation aims to help law enforcement pursue unruly drivers for four major offenses: speeding, running traffic lights, drunk

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The long story done shortly, according to a study of 1,000 people, 97% will never forget their first car and 90% rate it as more memorable than their first kiss. As the study was done in the UK, take it with a grain of salt as their first car had three wheels and their first kiss (probably) involved a ruler wielding school mistress. That said, we're pretty foggy on the name of the first girl we kissed – though we do remember describing it as "like licking jello." But we could never forget

I've always wanted to say this and now, thanks to new British electric car start up, Stevens Vehicles Ltd, I can: "Get into Zevan and come with me to the casbah." There is now an alternative for Brits who want a domestically-manufactured electric car but don't want to wait a year or spend 150,000 quid on a Lightning GT. Actually, two alternatives because Ste

With the new Audi A4 sedan gracing stands at last week's Frankfurt Show, Audi is attempting to inject some life into the older-shape A4 Cabrio with the addition of the S line sports specification for the 2.0L TFSI model. Available only in the UK from December onwards, the special edition packaging adds Pearl Nappa leather, a Bose stereo system, parking sensors, and xenon headlamps.

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We're betting only a few densely trafficked urban areas of the U.S. employ the use of motorized bollards, which are posts that lower and rise to allow permitted vehicles down a particular path. Apparently they're all the rage in the U.K. where many city centers focus on pedestrians more than the automobile, and certain streets are reserved only for busses, mail vehicles and the like. These vehicles have sensors in them that trip the bollards to lower and raise again once they've passed.

Many motorists find an iPod as essential a driving companion (for better or worse) as a cup of coffee or loose change. Unfortunately, many drivers in the UK found themselves without a viable solution for marrying auto with iPod thanks to a decades-old law that prevented the use of FM transmitters in cars. The only other options, using a cassette-tape adapter or hard-wiring a connection to the stereo's line-in, were either moot or too expensive.

Auto Industry is reporting that Britain has passed new air quality rules which will limit the amount of gas vapor that is emitted when filling your gas tank. Under the Petrol Vapour Recovery stage II controls (PVRII), gas stations that sell more than 3.5 million liters (about 925,000 gallons) per year have until January 1, 2010 to install equipment that would capture 85 percent of the escaping fumes. The government estimates that this will save about 16,000 tonnes (about 17,636 tons) of fumes fr

This one's a bit comical. We're all aware that reducing your speed while driving leads to fuel savings and reduced emissions, but no one in their right mind in Washington is going to suggest we lower speed limits. That's apparently not so in Britain. Auto Express is reporting that last week, while the Members of the British Parliament were discussing climate change, Nia Griffith, a Labour Party MP (Member of Parliament), suggested an extremely cost-effective way of reducing the speed limit on al

Swiftcover.com, an online insurance company, says that a recent study they conducted in Britain suggests that "the government's strategy of using fiscal measures to encourage motorists to cut their car use is misdirected."

It's time to take a serious look at our country's federal gasoline tax. According to the New York Times, it's been set at 18.4 cents per gallon since 1993. This is FAR lower than any other industrialized nation. The article also points out that according to the International Energy Agency, America's overall gas taxes in August averaged just 40 cents per gallon while Britain and Germany were at $4.24 and $3.99, respectively.

The United Kingdom has tapped Mitsubishi to replace the country's aging fleet of sand skipping Mitch-mobiles (so named by us after this vehicle type's supporting role on the international hit show BayWatch) that serve and protect hapless Brits at the beach. The fleet will be comprised of L200 4Work double-cab pickups specially outfitted to aid British lifeguards in their daily duties. The modifications include custom racks carrying surf rescue boards, emergency lighting, an onboard PA s

The collapse of MG Rover was an expensive affair for the British government and its people. A report published by the country's Public Accounts Committee says that the decline of MG Rover between 2000 and 2004 cost tax payers around £270 million. A £500 million pension deficit will also likely be met by the country's Pension Protection Fund, and the defunct company still owes £109 million to creditors, which they likely won't be getting.