Growing opposition to UK 50mph speed limit plan

UK Government plans to cut 60mph national speed limit to 50mph in 2010 By Peter Adams Motoring Issues 08 June 2009 14:21 Opposition to the UK Government’s plan to lower the national speed limit from 60 to 50mph is gathering momentum. Almost 34,000 people have now signed a petition on the Number 10 website urging the Government to ‘not reduce the national speed limit to 50mph.’  It’s become the second most popular petition on the site – ahead of similar bids to stop the Government raising university tuition fees and beaten only by one calling for Gordon Brown to resign as prime minister.Cutting the UK’s national speed limits from 60mph to 50mph: the backgroundBack in March 2009, plans were announced that the Government wanted to cut the national speed limit from 60mph to 50mph on single carriageways in rural areas. In urban areas, some 30mph limits could drop to 20mph.If steamrollered through, the sweeping change to Britain’s speed limits could be enforced from 2010.

Akio Toyoda waves family flag, heir makes crisis personal challenge

The reclusive Akio Toyoda is taking the rare step of waving the family flag, as the scion to Toyota Motor Corp.’s founding dynasty tries to steer the world’s largest car company out of a spiraling safety crisis. In testimony prepared for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, President Toyoda pursues a rare personal tack on the emergency, saying “my name is on every car.” “As you well know, I am the grandson of the founder, and all the Toyota vehicles bear my name,” Toyoda says in prepared comments circulated ahead of Wednesday’s committee hearing in Washington. “For me, when the cars are damaged, it is as though I am as well.” The intimate reflection is a departure for Toyoda, who has spent most of his career sidestepping public discussion of his lineage.

Aston Martin Cygnet – more detail

New pictures of the Toyota iQ based Aston Martin Cygnet Back in June we reported that Aston Martin were producing an Eco City Car - the Aston Martin Cygnet -  which was a bit of a surprise, to say the least. We know that people are shying away from ultra expensive and powerful cars at the moment, but the idea of an Aston Martin that was cheap to run and very, very small seemed a step to far. But once we got our heads round it the idea made more sense.