UK

The Aston Martin Bulldog seen here is unlike any other Aston because it is the only one of its kind in the world, thanks to its striking angular wedge-shaped design. It has undergone an 18-month long restoration.

It’s 2019 and we’re still happily buying and driving gas-powered and diesel-powered cars but the days of the internal combustion engine - at least the one as we know it now, powered by fossil fuels - are numbered with the looming threat of global warming growing seemingly by the minute. As almost every major player in the automotive industry pushes for electrification, we see customers do so too with more and more EVs being bought every year. Moreover, countries all around the world are preparing laws that could see the sale of ICE-powered vehicles outlawed. This may become a reality in the United Kingdom by 2035 and the U.S. could follow suit sooner rather than later although such a dramatic shift won’t happen overnight.

Can you feel it? The wind of change is blowing hard nowadays. Researchers say that, by 2022, owning an EV will be cheaper than the cost of living with a diesel-powered or a gas-powered alternative. By 2040, it’s said that around 50% of the cars on our roads will be electric and you can see how this may happen as the sales of EVs have gone up by an astonishing 92% in the first six months of 2019 to 765,000 units sold across 41 different markets around the globe. It’s still a niche with just 1.7% of the global market being taken up by BEVs but this percentage grows all the time and the process will be accelerated once nations start enforcing partial and then across-the-board bans on fossil fuel-powered vehicle that’ll leave people and business no choice but to switch when the moment comes to buy a new car.

When you’re in the market for a new car, a Mitsubishi vehicle is not generally your first choice. However, it does not mean that the Japanese brand is not doing well here in the States. In fact, Mitsubishi actually outsold Land Rover, Mini, and Volvo in 2018. Maybe it is some kind of sorcery, or Mitsubishi has sprayed some sort of invisible ink, we don’t know, but the Japanese giant has managed to move 118,074 cars in 2018 - all of it without socializing at auto-show gatherings or sponsoring many events. But, this is not the case in the U.K. The company is doing pretty well there and even sells a pickup truck called the L200. Mitsubishi has been producing the L200 pickup truck since 1978; under different monikers, though. The company has launched the sixth-generation now and it looks like a well-rounded package. Will the L200 Series 6 be able to hold its “fort(e)” in the highly competitive market?

Honda established its Swindon, UK plant back in 1985 and it functioned pretty well until the late 2000s credit crunch when the manufacturer closed about half of it. Before the financial crisis that really made its presence felt in 2008, Honda was making the Civic, CR-V, and Jazz in Swindon, but after the restructuring job, it only kept Civic production going at the site - now it looks like it plans on closing the facility for good, in 2021 or 2022.

Introduced in 2014 as a replacement for the Freelander, the Land Rover Discovery Sport needs only a few years to become the fastest-selling Land Rover of all time. The crossover’s popularity prompted Land Rover to create a range of special-edition models, the latest of which is called the Landmark Edition and it’s available for the 2018 model year.

Another reason why Land Rover chose the Discovery Sport to be the designated nameplate for special-edition model is because it was also the first model to be built on the company’s 70th birthday on 30 April. The vehicle will thus be used to support a number of projects in 2018, starting with a community resilience project in Scotland. The Landmark Edition adds unique color and trim combinations to the popular crossover, pairing them with a powerful version of the 2.0-liter Ingenium diesel engine. Let’s find out more about it below.

Continue reading to learn more about the Land Rover Discovery Sport Landmark Edition.

The C-Class is Merc’s best-selling vehicle, offering luxurious compact motoring since 1993. The latest W205 generation was launched in 2014 at the Detroit Motor Show, and now, Merc is sprucing it up at the end of its production cycle with a unique variant dubbed the Nightfall Edition, bringing a new dark-colored exterior treatment and standard AMG interior components, plus a standard sport suspension set-up.

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When you consider the constant bombardment of advertising that we all must endure on a daily basis, it comes as no surprise that grabbing the attention of consumers is no easy feat. Bimmer thought it had the right recipe with this ad aimed at the U.K. market, but apparently, it violates the sensibilities of regulators by depicting “dangerous” and “irresponsible driving.”

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Honda’s new-gen Civic is quite the looker. Here in the States, we were lucky enough to get both the hatchback (and the Type R, finally) and the sedan or “saloon” as our European brethren call it. Over in the U.K., however, the only choice is the Civic Hatch, but that will change now as Honda plans to bring the saloon to U.K. dealers by August 2018.

The current-generation Ford Focus RS has enjoyed an eventful life since it was unveiled at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show. But like all good things, the Focus RS’s time in the sun is about to end. Weep not, though, dear friends, because Ford is giving the hot hatch the proper swan song with the release of the Focus RS Heritage Edition. Limited to just 50 units, the Focus RS Heritage doesn’t dabble in the subtleties. It’s got enough goodies and equipment to make even hardened hot hatch fans tremble in excitement. And, if that little tease isn’t enough to persuade you, maybe the hatch’s bright orange exterior will do the trick.

The uncertainty of the U.K.’s “Brexit” away from the European Union looms as one of the world’s biggest storylines since the shock vote that happened in 2016. There’s still a year away before the U.K. formally leaves the European bloc, but there are already concerns from other countries all over the world about the kind of trade agreements that will arise from the country’s departure from the EU. One of the concerned nations is Japan and, in an unusual move for the normally docile Japanese people, the country said that its companies would leave Britain if trade barriers made them unprofitable. Among the Japanese companies that could exit Britain include Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and Mitsubishi.

Chevrolet did well for itself in January 2018 when it moved 141,947 units for the whole month. That represents an increase of five percent from its sales total in the same month a year before. Good stuff. Unfortunately, the Bowtie didn’t do as well in the U.K. For the entire month of January — that’s 31 days — Chevrolet sold a grand total of one unit across the pond. One. One!

YASA, a leading manufacturer of electric motors, has just opened a new factory in Oxford, England, giving the company a major boost in production levels. Previously capped at 2,000 units, the new facility will pump out 100,000 axial-flux electric motors per year. Nearly 80 percent of YASA’s production is exported to countries around the globe for use in both hybrid and fully electric vehicles.

Nissan and Jaguar Land Rover are two of YASA’s biggest customers, but automakers in China are also important customers of the British firm. YASA’s new factory comes as a result of a major £15 million ($21 million U.S. dollar) investment and supply agreements with several automakers.

Dr. Chris Harris, YASA’s CEO, said, “Our customers are looking to adopt innovative new technologies such as YASA’s axial-flux electric motors and controllers in order to meet the needs of the rapidly expanding hybrid and pure electric automotive market. This additional £15 million in growth funding will enable YASA to further invest in the volume production capacity necessary to meet our customers’ requirements, and to address markets beyond automotive including aerospace and marine.”

According to Harris’ comments, YASA isn’t limiting itself to just ground-based transportation. That could mean big business for the U.K. company as hybrid and electric drives become more and more common.

In the ongoing effort to curb emissions amid growing concern over pollution and air quality, London is looking to enact expanded ultra-low emission zones (ULEZ) that will fine older-model vehicles to travel through the city. Some analysts estimate the move could force upwards of 1.6 million motorists into a more modern automobile, which is a huge shift in just three years’ time.

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If there’s anything the iconic Land Rover Defender proved in its 67-year run that concluded in 2016, it’s that it could be used in a variety of ways. Whether it was used as a military car, an off-roader, or even as an expedition car, there was no purpose the OG Defender couldn’t fulfill. Apparently, as one British man proved, it can also be turned into a fully functioning coal-powered steam car.

Meet Frank Rothwell. He’s a 67-year old retired British businessman man who happens the own one of the most unusual custom Land Rover Defender 88 models in the world. On the surface, we can still make out traces of its old identity. The body still has the Defender 88’s styling cues. but the recessed grille has been replaced by boiler front with a working chimney for the coal smoke. There’s even a Land Rover badge thrown in there for good measure, presumably to keep up with the appearances.

Rothwell said that he spent around £24,000 (about $34,000) on the project after buying the Land Rover for £4,000 (a little more than $5,600). From there, Rothwell spent more than 400 hours working on the conversion, most of which were used in fitting a coal-fired boiler that heats water into steam that is used to power the steam engine. The result speaks for itself.

The Defender 88, or whatever remains of it, now looks like something Jeremy Clarkson would build after one of his old late night benders.

Functionally, Rothwell claims that his Defender can top out at speeds of 15 mph with a full head of steam. It’s not much, but it’s enough for him to make his usual trips in and around town. More importantly, the car represents something of a love project for his grandchildren. "I think it’s really good for children of this era to do things like lighting fires and using coal," he says, "because they have little access to using things like that these days."

The chief of road policing in Britain just called for a major crackdown on speeders, arguing that even 1 mph over the limit should incur a penalty. However, critics question whether or not such draconian measures will actually make the roads any safer.

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The Welsh government has investing £500,000 ($690,000) to TVR, acquiring a three-percent stake in the British automaker. The government is also sending a £2 million loan to the company and purchased the Ebbw Vale production facility where TVR plan to produce its current and future models, including the recently launched Griffith sports coupé.

A parking garage in Liverpool, England turned into a huge firebox on Sunday night, engulfing a seven-story parking deck near the Liverpool International House Show. Authorities believe that the fire started in a Land Rover, which triggered a chain reaction that ended up roasting 1,400 cars in the process. Not exactly how you want to ring in 2018, right?

Dream cars, we’re talking about them on a regular basis. They’re usually exotic vehicles that we can’t afford, and we wish we will be able to buy them at some point. But dream cars isn’t always about Bugattis, McLarens, and Ferraris. A recent study conducted in Great Britain revealed that the country’s dream car for 2017 is a mess design-wise, combining features from vehicles that are radically different. More than 2,300 motorists were polled in this study on what makes their perfect car, with options ranging from badges and headlamps to doors and paints. And the result is essentially a Frankenstein of car features and designs launched over the last decade.

Long-distance public commutes can be tricky, especially if you’re just off of a long day at work. You sit down, close your eyes, and before you know it, you’re dozing off, completely unaware of your surroundings. One stop turns to two, two turns to five, and when you wake up, you’re over ten stops past your own. This happens to a lot of commuters, which makes the idea of the Snoozeliner more appealing.

As much progress as Aston Martin has had in recent years of re-establishing itself as one of the best marquee brands in the world, everything it has built could come crumbling down by forces that are completely out of its control. Welcome, then, to the affairs of the present-day United Kingdom, where the looming Brexit move continues to hover over the whole country like a dark and foreboding cloud. Any and all British companies could be affected by it, and Aston Martin has made it clear that if the U.K. fails to strike a Brexit deal with the European Union, the British automaker would have to stop production of its cars in the U.K., effectively stalling its business until the issues are settled.

The doomsday scenario is a very real one for Aston Martin has no less than finance chief, Mark Wilson, described it as having a “semi-catastrophic effect” on the company. A big part of Aston’s concern focuses on having to recertify approvals with other regions so they can sell their cars in those markets. That includes Chinese approval in China, approval on a federal level in the U.S., or E.U. approval, should it come to the point that the company would need to apply for one. If it does come to that, Wilson admitted that it would mean that Aston would have to temporarily stop its production. The issue isn’t as big of a deal today since the U.K. is still technically part of the E.U. But if Brexit does happen without some kind of trade deal in place, the validity of all U.K.-made cars that are headed to E.U. will be in limbo. And if Aston Martin can’t move these units, it’s not going to make them in the first place, hence the potential of a cease in production. Clearly, the political uncertainty of Brexit comes at a horrendous time for Aston Martin has the automaker has just started to pick up momentum in its goal of reinventing itself as a prized automaker. This situation is still fluid, though, so anything can still happen but, if worst comes to worst, it might be prudent to start preparing for situations like this. And, I’m not just talking about Aston Martin; I’m talking about the U.K.’s entire trade infrastructure with the whole world getting thrown into chaos.

Continue after the jump to read the full story.

The Subaru WRX Sti has a long, storied history which is part of the reason why Subaru chose to bring a facelift to the car just a few years after the fifth-gen model hit dealers. If you were over in the U.K., on the other hand, you probably felt shafted when the U.S. got to lay eyes on the new WRX – after all, you got stuck with the design that debuted for 2016. Well, as it turns out, the U.K. isn’t getting the facelifted model and, in fact, there won’t be a Subaru STi at all after this year, leaving you just enough time to snag one of these last 150, Final Edition models. And, if you do happen to get your hands on one, well guess what? You actually get the facelifted version that’s on sale in the U.S. right now. That’s right; the “Final Edition” STi in the U.K. is really nothing more than the facelifted model that we received for 2018.

Sounds pretty sketchy, right? Well, it really is, but it’s not exactly Subaru’s fault either. According to various sources, the company that’s responsible for importing the WRX STi has chosen not to import it anymore. It was even up to that company, which goes by the name IM Group, whether or not the final edition models were brought over there. So, while they are the reason why you can’t get a 2018 model (outside of the 150 final editions, anyway) you might want to thank them as they were at least kind enough to import 150 more to give the car a proper send-off. With that said, you probably already know what you’ll get with the Final-Edition STi since it’s already on sale here in the U.S. as a 2018 model, but let’s go over the details just to refresh your memory a bit.

Continue reading to learn more about the Subaru WRX STI Final Edition.