France to gradually pahse out Diesel powered cars in favour of electric powered one.

France wants to gradually phase out the use of diesel fuel for passenger cars and will put in place a system to identify the most polluting vehicles, Prime Minister Manuel Valls said.

Next year, the government will launch a car identification system that will rank vehicles by the amount of pollution they emit, Valls said. This will make it possible for local authorities to limit city access for the dirtiest cars.

"In France, we have long favored the diesel engine. This was a mistake, and we will progressively undo that, intelligently and pragmatically," Valls said.

About 80 percent of French motorists drive diesel-powered cars.

Taxation would have to orient citizens towards more ecological choices, Valls said in a speech on Friday. The 2015 state budget measures would seek to reduce the tax advantage of diesel fuel versus gas.

The government has announced it will raise the so-called TICPE excise tax on diesel by 2 euro cents per liter, bringing in 807 million euros to state coffers in 2015.

Valls also said the government was working on plans to widen the number of beneficiaries of a subsidy for the conversion of old diesel engines in areas with anti-pollution plans.

Energy Minister Segolene Royal announced earlier this year that drivers scrapping diesel-powered cars to buy an electric one would be entitled to a bonus of up to 10,000 euros ($13,500).

REPORT HERE

Latest Poll puts Prince Harry as the best passenger, Harry Styles has dropped down.

In a poll conducted to celebrate the launch of the fashion-inspired special edition SEAT Mii by MANGO city car, it seems that the women of the UK have very clear ideas about who they want to have travelling alongside them.

Prince Harry rises to the top, with a quarter of those questioned wanting the handsome Royal next to them as they drive around the city. Some things don’t change though, as David Beckham shows his undying appeal, coming a close second with 21%. Victoria on the other hand didn’t fair so well, near bottom with 6%.

It seems no one wants to take the chance of having their driving judged, with Simon Cowell getting a mere 8%. The big shock is so-called ‘dream boy’ Harry Styles, who received a measly 5%, which goes to show that looks don’t always count. Embattled PM David Cameron can find no comfort in the fact that he gained only 3% of the vote, though some might say ‘as expected’.

Jennifer Lawrence leads the way with 18% of those asked choosing the Hunger Games star as their ultimate female car companion. Amazingly, Prince Harry’s sister-in-law Kate Middleton (17%) beat Beyoncé (10%) of those polled. Perhaps UK women are hoping Kate will spill the beans on her Royal brother-in-law.

When questioned about the age-old driving battle of the sexes, the poll goes on to show that women are more confident than they have ever been about their motoring abilities, with 70% considering themselves to be far more skilled drivers than the men in their lives. 

And to add insult to injury to the men who still think they’re King of the road, 49% of women believe they have a better sense of direction than their male counterparts.

Goodwood plays host to a different sort of world record.

Goodwood Motor Circuit will play host to an ambitious World Record attempt this weekend as disabled motor sport Marshal Steve Tarrant bids to go further in 24 hours than anybody else in history – on a Mobility Scooter!

Tarrant, 53, from Poole in Dorset, lost a leg in an accident while marshalling 14 years ago, but has maintained his passion for motor sport by regularly donning his orange overalls at some of the world’s greatest circuits – including Goodwood – in the seasons since then.

In addition to his motor sport exploits, Tarrant was a medal-bearing gamesmaker at the London Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012 and was presented with a Big Society Award from Prime Minister David Cameron afterwards.

Attempting to secure a place in history is nothing new for Tarrant. He previously succeeded in breaking the existing 170-mile distance record for the distance covered in 24 hours, only to see his effort unratified for official purposes on a technicality.

This time he is aiming to complete 200 miles of a specially-devised Tarmac circuit at Goodwood while at the same time raising money for MacMillan Cancer Support. His vehicle will be a TGA Breeze S4 GT Mobility Scooter, capable of 10 miles per hour.

Tarrant’s will begin his world record attempt at 1800 on Saturday, 17 May and is scheduled to finish at 1800 on Sunday, 18 May. Spectators are welcome to come along and show their support from 1800-1900 on Saturday and after 0800 on Sunday.

Steve Tarrant said: “It’s fantastic to have such an historic location as Goodwood to make this record attempt. The course I’ll be using is a hard Tarmac surface, which will provide a consistent level of grip throughout the day and night and should put me in good shape to break the record. In theory, 215 miles is the maximum distance possible on a 10mph vehicle, so 200 is quite ambitious. Reliability permitting, however, I’d say I’m in good shape.”

British prime Minister visits JLR's new powertrain plant

Jaguar Land Rover welcomed the Prime Minister David Cameron to its world-class Engine Manufacturing Centre in the West Midlands. The Prime Minister was given a tour of the new plant where he saw the on-going installation of the manufacturing equipment first hand.

Jaguar Land Rover’s state-of-the-art Engine Manufacturing Centre is the first new facility that the company has built from the ground up. Based at the heart of the UK, it is ideally located between the company’s three other manufacturing sites at Halewood, Castle Bromwich and Solihull. Almost 1,400 jobs will be created by the time the plant reaches its full capacity.

Representing an investment of more than £500 million, the plant will manufacture Jaguar Land Rover’s most advanced engines ever. Designed and developed at the company’s Product Development Centre in Whitley, this new family of premium, lightweight, low-friction, low-emission four cylinder petrol and diesel engines will be manufactured for future Jaguar Land Rover vehicles.

The Prime Minister said, “Whenever I come to one of your plants, it makes my spirits soar when I see such an exciting future for British manufacturing. Everywhere I go in the world I support Jaguar Land Rover. This is a great British success story.”

Jaguar Land Rover’s Executive Director, Mike Wright commented, “Our world-class new facility incorporates the latest technologies meeting the highest standards of production and demonstrates our continued commitment to UK manufacturing.

“We are proud to show Prime Minister David Cameron around our plant today as our team begins to commission the equipment which will be used to manufacture our most advanced engines ever.”

The plant boasts almost 100,000 square metres of internal floor area, equivalent to the area of 14 football pitches. It comprises of three manufacturing halls – one for machining the cylinder heads, cylinder blocks and crankshafts, one for assembling diesel engines and one for assembling petrol engines. The first engines will come off the assembly line in early 2015.