Vauxhall VXR8 & SMART for-two CDI take MPG Marathon honours

Vauxhall VXR8 & SMART for-two CDI take MPG Marathon honours On the face of it, it’s reasonable to expect a car as small as the SMART for-two CDI to be capable of astonishing economy if driven in a certain way. And the ALD Automotive / Shell FuelSave MPG Marathon, run last week near Cirencester, proved exactly that, with a SMART driven by Mick Linford and co-driver Ella Flynn managing to use less than four gallons of diesel to cover the 370 mile route. That means the SMART fortwo CDI averaged 99.24mpg on the route on real roads, an improvement of 16 per cent on the official combined figure of 85.6.

Sergio Marchionne wants to build Mazda in Fiat & Chrysler plants

Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne wants to build Mazda cars in Fiat and Chrysler plants around the world. When Alfa Romeo and Mazda revealed last week that they would be developing a new small roadster together – well, Alfa Romeo would take the next generation MX-5 and sculpt on a new body to make a new Alfa Spider – we suggested Mazda would be better of getting Fiat to build their cars. It seems Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne thinks the same.

2011 Ford F-150 aims for fuel economy, power

The Ford F-Series has been America's top-selling truck for decades. But in a nod to changing times, Ford is now also focusing on fuel economy for its iconic truck for the 2011 model year. The F-150, which is offering a V6 again this year, will get 23 mpg on the highway and 16 mpg in city driving using the naturally aspirated, 3.7-liter V6 that makes 302 hp.