Independent Taiwanese brand Luxgen introduced its special edition Luxgen7 SUV Sports+ at the 2011 Taipei Automobile & Accessories Exhibition in Taiwan. Luxgen is creating a brand new future for Taiwan’s automobile industries as Mr. K C Hu, CEO of Luxgen, commented: “We are confident that Luxgen will create the new era on both domestic marketing and international expansion in 2011.”

The Volvo XC90 looks like it will hit a record breaking sales year in its eighth year of production. With sales currently standing at 6686 units to the end of November, 2010 is turning out to be another strong year as it bucks the trend and outsells BMW, Audi, Mercedes Benz, VW and Lexus.

Also good news is that Volvo’s Winter Tyre Programme has sales now exceeding over 1000 tyres since its launch in October 2010. Lee Berrell, aftersales manager for Volvo Car UK, said: “Interest in the Volvo winter tyres has far exceeded our expectations, with Scotland, the North of England and London seeing the greatest number of inquires and sales.”

HPI urges buyers to use seasonality to their advantage when it comes to buying a used car. Clever buyers can save thousands. The winter months can be quiet for used car sales, so this is a good time for buyers, as there can be many bargains. Other trigger points can include the plate changes in March and September and 4x4s showed the greatest activity in February/March and October/November.

Kia Motors has scooped product design awards for the Sportage in the 2011 iF product design awards. In addition to design quality, the jury recognized workmanship, level of innovativeness, eco-friendliness, ergonomics and safety. A main focus was brand image. Since launch in 1953, the iF product design award has been one of the most important prizes for excellence in design.

Up to 27,000 extra driving tests have been failed by learners taught by trainee instructors, while most pupils did not even know their instructor was learning spielautomaten on the job, AA investigations reveal. Much lower pass rates among those taught by trainee instructors have cost learners over £1.7 million in additional test fees in 12 months; millions more have been spent on extra lessons needed to reach test standard.

An industry report conducted by the used car valuators, Glass’s, has revealed that three Land Rover models are among the top 10 ranked vehicles retaining the highest residual values over the first three years of ownership. The three year-old (57 plate) Freelander 2 GS TD4 Auto ranked in fourth place, Discovery 3 2.7 TDV6 in sixth, and the Range Rover Sport 2.7 TDV6 ninth.