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

Monday, October 24

VAN drivers can be even more eco with the launch of a new drivetrain to the Citroen Berlingo. Available on the six most efficient Berlingo models, the e-HDi micro-hybrid drivetrain gives fuel economy figures of up to 60.1mpg and emits 123g/km. Prices start at £12,795.

NISSAN has unveiled a major new six-year environmental plan. By the end of fiscal year 2016, the firm expects to be number one in zero emission motoring, leading low corporate carbon footprint, and to have a new front-wheel drive hybrid model.

JCT600 Lotus has celebrated the official opening of its Leodis Court Lotus dealership in Leeds in style. More than 150 customers attended the event, and they were treated to exclusive test drives of the new Evora S IPS as well as viewing the 2011 Lotus Renault Formula 1 car. Read more here

Tuesday, October 25

JOURNALISTS in a Nissan press conference in Spain were subjected to a surprise unveil of a special crossover. The Juke-R broke cover at the event and was shown off in all its glory. The special car is a project from the Nissan Technology Centre for Europe, and combines the Juke and GT-R into one car.

FORMER F1 champ Damon Hill will be taking part in the 2011 RAC Future Car Challenge it has been announced. Hill will drive a Skoda Fabia Greenline II in the event which takes place in Brighton and ends in London, and will join other celebs including Quentin Willson, Mark Goodier, and Kevin McCloud.

59 SUBARU dealers have raised £20k for victims of the Japanese Tsunami. The dealers took part in a national cycle relay and covered more than 3,500 miles to raise money for the cause, taking in all four corners of the country. Read more here

PERODUA has announced it will be offering a set of 14-inch, titanium alloy wheels worth £480 free of charge to customers who buy their Myvi SXI in ebony black before the end of the year. The offer joins other incentives such as a £1k off and a hold on the VAT increase.

Wednesday, October 26

NEXT year will see a hotter, more hard-core version of Nissan’s iconic GT-R supercar, the firm tells us. A performance pack will be made available to the GT-R MY12 early next year to satisfy track day customers, but prices have yet to be formalised. Read more here

BRITISH marque MG has exclusively revealed to Car Dealer the most desirable cities it wants to find dealers for. The top locations include Birmingham, Leeds and south London among others, whereas Swansea and Inverness reside at the bottom of the desirable open-points list. Read more here

FORD has announced prices and trims of its new Ranger pick-up model. When its arrives in showrooms next month, customers will have the choice of four trim levels, four-wheel-drive or 4×2, and features Bluetooth, and a reversing camera. Prices start at £15,515 and rise to £25,040.

AUDI has hinted that it will be producing a spiced-up version of its new Q3 model, if Range Rover does the same to the Evoque. To compete against the baby Range Rover, Audi will slot a 300bhp version of the 2.5-litre unit as found in the TT-RS. However, the hot Q3 would not wear the RS badge. Read more here

Thursday, October 27

THE National Association of Motor Auctions has declared price differences of used cars between October and September as ‘significant’ but ‘unsurprising’. In September cars of all ages increased in price by two per cent, however by October that price gain had been reversed. Read more here

HONDA of America have awarded an American driver a brand new Accord saloon in recognition of his loyalty to the brand. Joe LoCicero has driven one million miles in his 1990 Honda Accord, and kept a running diary of his average of 62,500 miles a year from the 300,000 mark.

CHEVROLET’s Aveo has been launched in the US in… dramatic style. The new superminini – called Sonic in the US – was subjected to a launch in the literal sense – it bungee-jumped from a 10-storey tower. Last month the brand parachuted the car out of a plane, too. Videos can be seen here

THE UK operation of EuroTaxGlass’s Group will now be called Glass’s. The move comes as part of a re-brand of the group. Read more here

Friday, October 28

THE future of Saab looks to be safe. The Swedish car firm has been rescued by two backers – Pang Da Automobile Trade Co and Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co. Investment into the firm is likely to be double the 245m Euro originally quoted by other failed deals to save the car maker.

A LUXURY finance company has revealed it’s already funded £1m worth of Range Rover Evoques! Bridford Financial Solutions says it has already funded 30 Evoques at an average list price of £43k, and has been inundated with finance requests for the baby Range Rover. Read more here

TWO weeks after the unveiling of the new BMW 3 Series, Audi has announced a makeover of its A4 range. Top of the agenda is a refresh to the car’s exterior along with the S4 model now managing to crack 0-60mph in under five seconds. The interior and engines have received a makeover too. Read more here

THE car service and repair industry’s self-regulatory organisation, Motor Codes, has revealed consumers want clear, accessible advice. Of the 6,000 calls it has received this year, 93 per cent of calls were consumers asking for advice, not registering a complaint. Read more here