Goodwood, England  - Rolls Royce has released details of a new luxury coupe designed to slot into the range below the flagship Phantom.

The "baby Rolls" codenamed RR4 will be fitted with a new engine unique to the company and produced at the Goodwood factory in southern England. The launch of the model is planned for 2010.

The current Phantom limousine and two-door couple use a V12 power unit derived from German maker BMW which owns the marque.

Chairman Ian Roberstons said the new model was designed to expand the appeal of Rolls-Royce which competes in the ultra-luxury market against Bentley and Maybach.

Grafschaft-Gelsdorf, Germany  - A band of racing enthusiasts hopes to attract a well-heeled clientele to a new sports roadster named Veritas which revives the name of Germany's pioneering post-war

Tokyo  - Japanese car manufacturers aim to counter the twin challenges of climate change and spiralling oil prices with a range of affordable hybrid cars which run on both petrol and electricity.

London  - Owners of petrol stations in Britain are increasingly installing tyre-spikes on forecourts to stop drivers escaping without paying their bills.

Frankfurt  - Surging oil prices and growing inflation fears have hit German car sales, with figures released Tuesday showing a big slump last month in new registrations in Europe's biggest auto mar

Bangkok - In a bid to curb oil imports and rising inflation the Thai cabinet on Tuesday approved tax cuts on E85 (a bio-fuel mix of 85 per cent ethanol and 15 per cent petrol) and E85-using car mod