Born, Netherlands  - Mitsubishi is reducing the Colt model range's fuel consumption with several measures including start-stop technology and roll-resistance tyres, the Japanese car maker has announced.

Start-stop technology would be fitted to the 1.1 and 1.3 litre petrol models on the European market as part of "Clear Tec" measures that reduces consumption of the 1.1-litre model to 4.9 litres per 100 kilometres. This translates to an emission figure of 115 grammes per kilometre. The 1.3-litre model consumption is down to 5.1 litres (119 g/km).

Tokyo  - Nissan has started extensive testing of a fuel-cell prototype SUV based on the Nissan X-Trail that it hopes to have ready for serial production in 2015, reports said.

Compared to a previous model, the latest X-Trail FCV generation power output has been boosted from 90 to 130 kW. At the same time, the fuel cell stack has been reduced in size from 90 to 68 litres, giving the engineers more flexibility in the packaging, the German auto-motor-sport magazine reported.

Tokyo  - Toyota has developed the first cen

Geneva  - Getting in and out of the car could be become much easier soon if some of the ideas seen on concept cars at the recent Geneva Motor Show find their way into production vehicles.

The back seat passengers of some sports cars will find it a welcome relief as they will no longer have to clamber in through the front door and squeeze around the front seats to sit down in the rear of the vehicle.

Cologne, Germany  - The medium-sized Ford Mondeo can be ordered with liquid petroleum gas drive (LPG) based on the Flexifuel version that can also be driven with petrol or ethanol, making it a triple-fuel vehicle, Ford Germany has announced.

The Mondeo is fitted with a two-litre Duratec engine with an output of 107 kW/145 hp when driven with petrol. In the LPG mode, power is slightly reduced to 104 kW/141 hp.

The LPG tank is fitted in the spare wheel compartment with the vehicle retaining its normal 70 litre petrol tank, giving it a total range of more than 1,000 kilometres using both fuel modes.

Washington  - General Motors Corp is keeping open the option of bankruptcy in order to restructure the flagging US carmaker, GM's new chief executive Fritz Henderson said Tuesday.

Henderson, who took over the top job from Rick Wagoner Monday as part of a White House-forced shake-up, said he was confident the company could make the necessary changes to survive either way.

"If we're not successful doing it out of court, we will do it in court," Henderson told reporters in his first press conference from Detroit.