A factory making lithium-ion batteries for hybrid- drive cars opened in Germany Wednesday, with owner Continental saying it was the first in the world to mass-produce the storage cells.

Smaller lithium-ion (Li-ion) rechargeable batteries for laptop computers and other uses are common round the globe, but most fuel- saving hybrid cars use an older technology, nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries.

Munich - Mini plans to extend its range with a compact SUV study featuring four doors, four-wheel drive and four single seats that will be unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in October.

Planned for production in 2010, the teaser images released by the BMW subsidiary show two conventional doors positioned on the passenger side with a third for the driver. The fourth door, for the rear passenger on the driver's side, slides back along the outside of the car for convenient access and loading.

The rear door has a frameless, retractable window and when open, swivels to one side to facilitate the loading of long items, such as skis, snowboards and surfboards.

Reykjavik - Volkswagen is planning special fuel-saving models for the new Golf including BlueMotion diesel and LPG (liquid petroleum gas) versions and hybrid and electric-drive at a later stage, the car maker announced in the Icelandic capital.

Three and five door versions of the new Golf, which will celebrating its world premiere at the Paris Motor Show next month, will then go on sale in Europe fitted with conventional petrol and diesel engines. The basic version will sell for 16,500 euros (23,274 dollars).

Sydney - It sounds like a question on an intelligence test: Why do today's car thieves target older vehicles with a resale value of just a few thousand dollars rather than ones that have that new car smell?

Figures from Australia show that they do. Three-quarters of stolen vehicles are over nine years old. Police reckon a car built in the 1970s is eight times more likely to disappear than the average vehicle.

RACV Insurance general manager Susan Allen said cars insured for less than 6,000 Australian dollars (5,000 US dollars) accounted for more than half of theft claims. Vehicles less than three years old accounted for only 4.5 per cent of claims.

Stuttgart - Mercedes-Benz is planning to offer every fifth car with hybrid-drive by the year 2015 starting with a new hybrid every year from 2009, the car maker announced recently.

The head of the car maker's marketing division, Klaus Maier, said that the combustion engine would remain a key element of the model line-up for the next 20 to 30 years.

Stuttgart - German motorists are offering curious excuses when stopped by police for using a cell phone behind the wheel, according to the Auto Club Europe (ACE).

"I didn't use it to make a call. The warm battery is against earache," said one motorist while another said: "It is a support for my seesawing jaw."

Both cases went to court, but the judge rejected the "unconvincing excuse" in both cases.

A driver also failed to impress authorities with the argument that he was using an electric shaver whilst singing to a tune on the car radio.