BMW and GM have agreed to cooperate in developing refuelling devices for vehicles built to run on liquid hydrogen. GM's interest in the systems is for fuel cell vehicles. Meanwhile BMW is a proponent of using hydrogen as an ultra-clean fuel for piston-powered cars. Either way, using hydrogen in liquid form would give a vehicle more range than those using compressed hydrogen gas.

BMW Williams' F1 team will be advertising an anti-smoking product on their car this season in a sport which has long been sponsored by tobacco companies. The deal began with the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, where Williams cars advertised NiQuitin CQ - nicotine patches and chewing gum under a contract signed with GlaxoSmithKine. A ban on tobacco sponsorship of international sports could come into force as early as 2005.

Ducati shares jumped 16% in one day on renewed speculation that the owner of one-third of its shares, Texas Pacific Group, was ready to sell out. The same rumour circulated last August and, as before, none of the main principals are making any comment.

Fiat and Suzuki have signed an agreement to jointly develop a new sport utility vehicle (SUV). The SUVs will be based on Suzuki's new A-segment platform and production will begin in the second half of 2005 at the Magyar Suzuki Corp facility in Estergom, near Budapest, Hungary. The 5 door models will have both diesel and petrol engines. Fiat Auto and Suzuki will distribute the SUVs independently through their own dealership networks.

Ford's latest incentive offer in the USA has a twist on history. As a tribute to founder Henry Ford in the company's centennial year, Ford will offer leases on Mustang coupes and Ranger Edge pickups for $5 a day. Henry Ford was credited with helping create the American consumer class in 1914, when he paid workers $5 a day - enough to afford a new car. Meanwhile GM is offering 5-year, no-interest loans on almost every vehicle it makes.

Ford plans to develop 10 new vehicles based on a Mazda platform. New Lincoln and Mercury cars, as well as Sports Utility and crossover vehicles, will be based on the same platform as the Mazda6. The first result will be the Futura, a replacement for the Taurus due in mid-2005 to compete with the Honda accord and Toyota Camry. Ford, which owns 33% of Mazda, says this platform could eventually account for 800,000 units of annual output.

GM believes its future will be the growing Asian market, particularly China. Chairman Jack Smith says "We've got to treat that like it was the equivalent of the U.S. market because it's going to be." Smith thinks growth in China will be stimulated by the Chinese government's plan to allow individuals to loan money for vehicles and economic growth which means 400 to 500 million people in the provinces have the income for small cars - if loans are available.

GM is said to be close to deciding to give its Saab unit an SUV based on GM's Trailblazer platform. The vehicle would be built at GM's truck plant in Moraine, Ohio and so become Saab's first North American-made vehicle. Saab cancelled plans last year to add an SUV based on the Cadillac SRX because the 2 vehicles would look too much alike. Some analysts say that a rebadged GM SUV may tarnish the Saab brand.

Heavy truck production could be on the rise. The makers of Class A trucks may not match last year's output of 181,000 units, but they could come close, says a Reuters report. Analysts had been expecting a sharp decline, but output in January and February beat last year's total for these 2 months by 5%. Paccar believes there is pent-up demand because the current fleet is ageing. Other OEMs and suppliers see signs of improvement, but most are not yet ready to forecast a recovery.

Hyundai is likely to benefit most from a decision by the South Korean Government to allow the sales of diesel powered passenger cars in the country from January 2005. Currently only Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) can be powered by diesels in South Korea. Both Hyundai and its subsidiary Kia build diesels for export to Europe, while neither GM Daewoo or Renault Samsung GM produce diesel engines in Korea.

India is making its mark as global car parts supplier for low-cost, high-quality parts. Giants like truck maker AB Volvo, Ford, DaimlerChrysler AG and diesel engine maker Cummins Inc have headed for India as the nearly trillion-dollar industry seeks to defeat a demand slump that has forced them to slash prices. With potential cost savings of 15 to 20%, some automakers have already announced plans to buy parts from India's the 500 suppliers.

Jaguar is updating its corporate identity. The British luxury car manufacturer will project a more contemporary brand identity in advertising campaigns. Born to Perform, the new tagline, makes its debut in 30- and 60-second versions of a TV commercial called "The Beat" and in all supporting advertising. Additionally, the famous leaping Jaguar logo assumes a more muscular and powerful look.

MAN of Germany is negotiating with the Chinese D'Long company to produce heavy trucks near Shanghai China. D'Long has purchased the China national Heavy Duty Truck company which is already a partner of the MAN plant in Austria. MAN are not assuming that talks will be successful since competitor AB Volvo has negotiated with China National for years. Meanwhile MAN's bus unit has signed an agreement with the second largest bus maker in China, Yutong Bus Co.

Mazda has developed a 'Shock Cone Aluminium Hood'. This has an all-new impact-absorbing structure to enhance pedestrian protection. Mazda says that the new structure has the potential to significantly reduce the severity of head injuries suffered by pedestrians when struck by a car. The hood will make its debut on the Mazda RX-8 due to appear this spring, and will be gradually incorporated into other Mazda products.

Subaru plans to add a second platform to its line-up. Parent company Fuji Heavy Industries, says it plans to develop a second platform for smaller vehicles to be sold in Japan. The first cars to use the new platform will debut in 2006. Subaru's Legacy, Forester and Impreza cars all share the same platform. Over the past 12 moths to March 31, Subaru has seen a 23% slide in operating profits.

ThyssenKrupp Automotive of Germany and Oxford Automotive of the USA are poised to buy Sofedit, France's largest independent metal forming components maker. Sofedit's sales reached nearly 700 mn Euro in 2002, two thirds of which were with PSA and Renault. Metal stamping is considered to be one of the few parts of the industry still growing since carmakers increasingly outsource the work.

Volvo has given the public direct contact with the heart and brains behind Volvo Cars through a new Internet site. Visitors to www.conceptlabvolvo.com can ask questions and submit their views on latest models and concept cars directly to the key persons behind current and future Volvo cars. Latest additions to the Concept Lab "range" are the Versatility Concept Car (VCC) and 5 other small-car concept studies.

On the lighter side .... some strange but true stories.

Lorry driver Marinus Boogaerts of Holland, held a party to celebrate 1,000,000 miles of accident free driving. Three days later he crashed his truck in Rotterdam.

Policeman Albert Beck of Hamburg, Germany had a lucky escape after switching on his siren. The wires had not been properly connected and his car burst into flames.

Italian driver Giorgio Mantussi was called to a court in Sorrento accused of drink-driving. However, the case was quickly dismissed when it was realised his wife had been driving and he had been breathalysed by mistake.

A disgruntled driver in Kansas, USA who has been booked for parking by a no-waiting sign, is sawing off all the cities road signs in revenge.

Bungling thieves in France ended up pushing their getaway car after stealing it from a garage in Lille. The show car had no engine.

A lady driver who was stopped on a Duseldorf motorway with a parrot on her shoulder, told the police that the bird went everywhere with her and would not be separated.

A traffic policeman in Ostersund , Sweden was fined 3 months wages for being 'too kind' to speeding motorists.

The Tuscan town of Vinci in Italy , best known for its Renaissance artist son Leonardo is renovating a parking lot to become the nation's first Love Car Park complete with soft lighting and receptacles for condoms. We're just recognizing that young people love each other," said Mayor Giancarlo Faenzi. "If you don't face that fact, you're simply closing your eyes to reality and you just end up sending them . . . down the road," he said, adding that the town was still deciding whether to install a condom machine.

Police in Cooperville, Kansas set a radar trap after resident Donald Mottram complained of speeding motorists outside his house. The first culprit caught by the radar was ....Donald Mottram.

Signs in Bergen, Norway have been erected which say 'stupid drivers ahead'. They are located at the top of a hill which is often blocked by bad parking.

A young showgirl in Taranto, Italy has placed advertisements in the local papers offering to sleep with the thief who stole her Porsche - with the condition that it is returned intact with a full tank of petrol.

An angry driver in Hamburg, Germany rammed his car into a wheel-clamper's van - just seconds after paying for the car to be unclamped.

First visitors to Volkswagen UK's official website for their new Touran mini-MPV were able to see what the new model had been nicknamed by staff. The 2 photographs on the Touran homepage were labelled Breadvan1 and Breadvan2. The names were rapidly changed and a VW spokesman said " This is not an official view of how we see the car. It looks great".