HERE ARE the most interesting and talked-about stories over the past five days, collated and summarised by us.

Monday, September 3

A LACK of demand for new cars as the Eurocrisis deepens has led Vauxhall to shut down BOTH its UK factories for a week. The paid ‘down week’ will start on September 24 and comes just weeks after Ellesmere Port celebrated winning the new contract for the next Vauxhall Astra.

JAGUAR has made its spiciest XFR saloon even more super with the addition of a not-very-PC ‘Speed Pack’. The new upgrade increases the top speed from 155mph to 174mph. It costs an additional £2,750 over the standard car’s £65,380 list price.

A BRITISH car dealer could sell the world’s most expensive car – if the right buyer is found for a unique £20m Aston Martin. If it makes more than the asking price, it will easily become the most expensive car ever sold in Britain. And if the price goes up a further £2m it will become the most expensive car ever sold in the world. The car in question is a 1957 Aston Martin DBR1/2 and it is being offered for sale by Berkshire-based Ferrari specialist Talacrest.

ONE of Scotland’s best-known car and commercial vehicle dealerships has been sold to Arnold Clark Automobiles for an undisclosed sum. Read more here.

Tuesday, September 4

CHRIS EVANS’ motoring and fund-raising extravaganza, CarFest North, rolls into Cheshire this weekend. It’s the second of two events organised by Radio 2 DJ Evans, and follows in the tyre tracks of CarFest South, held in Hampshire last month.

AROUND 330,000 new cars are expected to be registered in the UK this month, with buyers spending almost £5bn in the process. Those are figures just released by the SMMT, and chief executive Paul Everitt said the ‘fantastic’ array of cars on the market would help make it a September to remember.

‘FIRST-PARTY fraud’, including ‘fronting’, was the most common type of motor finance fraud in the second quarter of 2012, according to the FLA. Read more here.

Wednesday, September 5

THE number of Nissan dealerships equipped to sell the all-electric Leaf has increased by 21. A total of 53 dealerships are now able to handle sales of the award-winning all-electric hatchback, with each outlet having a specialist Electric Vehicle Relationship Manager in place to deal with enquiries.

HONDA has announced a major £267m investment in its car manufacturing plant in Swindon – which has led to 500 new jobs at the factory this year. Production of the firm’s new CR-V model starts this week.

AUTOMOTIVE retailer Vertu Motors has pledged to stay on the acquisition trail as its profits grow from new and used vehicle sales as well as servicing. Read more here.

Thursday, September 6

RISING petrol prices may be a thing of the past thanks to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). The consumer and competition authority is asking for information on the UK petrol and diesel sector from industry, leading motoring groups and consumer bodies.

THE new car market was stable in August, ahead of the important 62 plate change, according to the latest figures from the SMMT. The organisation’s monthly numbers showed that new car registrations grew by one per cent to 59,433 units.

AMERICAN giant Ford has revealed it’ll be making a hybrid version of the next Mondeo, it’s introducing three new SUVs and the Mustang is crossing the pond. The announcements were made at a special event in Amsterdam.

Friday, September 7

FULL details of the all-new Range Rover (right) have been released – and the bad news is you’ll desperately want to find the £71,000 needed to buy one. One of the most desirable four-wheel drives around, this is the fourth generation of the popular model and boasts a new look, new technology and a hybrid engine option for the first time.

JAGUAR Land Rover has invested £370 million to upgrade its UK manufacturing facilities and increase productivity as it prepares to launch the all-new Range Rover in 170 countries around the world. Read more here.

USED cars averaged £6,158 in August, down £22 compared to July, according to BCA’s latest Pulse Report.