Automotive

It used to be the preserve of Japanese manufacturers to call their cars by stupid names. Then marketing men all over the world got involved and now it's a global idiocy. The latest batch of new names is, quite simply, ridiculous. Or is it?

It was a sad day when I stood at the British Motorshow in the mid 1980s and failed to buy a British sports car for the sole reason that there wasn't one I liked that had anywhere to put a child seat. Now there is.

General Motors and Toyota in the US are recalling cars for a variety of defects

Volkswagen has issued a voluntary recall in the USA for many Passats built between 1999-2005.

It is expected that Ford, which had already said that Tata of India was its preferred bidder, will shortly announce that Jaguar and Range Rover will be sold to Tata for USD2 milliard.

Ford sold Aston Martin to an investment company and then put Jaguar and Range Rover up to sale, recently declaring Tata of India to be the preferred bidder. It's yet another faux pas in the recent history where, so far as the company's accounts are concerned, it's any colour you want so long as it's red.

Here's a puzzle - what's northern, big, white and grumpy? No, it's not a polar bear. It's Canada - at least when it comes to its car manufacturing industry. What's that, you say? Does Canada have a car manufacturing industry? Apparently so.