M3 to get seven-speed DSG 'box

According to an internal BMW communications document, the new M3 will be available from the spring of next year with a VW-inspired dual-clutch paddle-shift gearbox that will provide near-seamless gearshifts.

Designed and built for BMW by legendary 'box builder Getrag, the new gearbox will be known as M-DCT and is being seen as a response to heavy criticism of the jerky, awkward sequential manual gearbox fitted to the M5 and M6. It's expected that the super-efficient new gearbox will make the M3, which goes on sale in September, significantly quicker and more fuel-efficient to boot.

There will also be a DCT version of the gearbox, designed for less extreme applications than M-Series cars, and will form part of BMW's Efficient Dynamics programme, that seeks major gains in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions without resorting to heavy, expensive hybrid technology.

MG returns to Birmingham

Two years on from the traumatic close-down of MG-Rover, TF roadsters are once again coming off the lines at the (in)famous Longbridge factory, once Europe's largest car plant.

Chinese owners Nanjing Automotive Company has restarted limited production of the sports car (originally designed in 1995) and also plans to use Longbridge as a base for its plans to commence sales of the China-built MG 7 saloon (formerly MG ZT, neé Rover 75).

Seat scoops itself

Seat has taken the rather unusual step of releasing an initial sketch of a car that is at least 18 months away from production.

The so-called Seat B-Segment car will be the Sapnish firm's first foray into the Mondeo-Passat-Avensis end of the market. No technical details of the car are available yet, other than that it will be built at Seat's main Martorel factory near Barcelona.

It's pretty safe to assume that it will use engines and running gear from the VW Golf and Passat, although it's too early to tell just how big a car it will be. Full size saloon on a Passat chassis? Or stretched Golf platform to straddle the Focus-Mondeo sized footprint, a la Skoda Octavia.

We'll know more closer to the as-yet unnamed model's launch date in 2009.

Mini beats Prius

BMW has announced details of a Mini Cooper that matches the Toyota Prius for emissions levels, but does without the need for a hefty battery stack or expensive hybrid engine.

The new Mini Cooper D will use the same stop-start and regenerative braking technology that BMW has recently debuted on the updated 1 Series diesel. By shutting off the engine when stationary in traffic and using scavenged energy from braking and coasting to run the car's electrical systems, BMW is claiming that the 110bhp diesel Cooper will return an exceptional 3.9-litres per 100km fuel economy (72.2mpg) and emit just 104g/km of CO2.

7-Up for VW's DSG

Volkswagen's now-famous DSG paddle-shift gearbox has just received a seventh gear, and it will be slotting into various Polo, Golf, Jetta and Passat models shortly, as well a numerous other Audi, Seat and Skoda products.

Like the first generation six-speed DSG, the new gearbox is as much about improving efficiency as it is about providing the driver with some F1-style gearshift thrills. The new 'box takes advantage of its extra cog by shortening the first six gears for better acceleration while a long, stretchy seventh takes care of improving economy on long runs.

Remarkably, the new DSG is actually 7kg lighter than the old six-speed version and VW isn't expected to raise the price, either.

Incidentaly, VW has also confirmed that its new 1.4 TSI 120bhp engine (which uses the same technology as the 140bhp and 170bhp versions but makes do with just a turbocharger and does without the more powerful versions' supercharger) will gradually replace the long-lived 1.6-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine. The TSI version is more powerful but also more economical and emits less CO2.

New face for Picanto

Kia's Picanto small car has just had its mid-life facelift, which brings a new grille, lights and bumper to the Picanto party. The new bumpers (front and rear) mean that it's now 40mm longer than before, but the wheelbase remains unchanged so there's no improvement on interior space.

In spite of which, the interior has had a major makeover, with a new fascia, new instruments and new steering wheel meant to ape the look of its bigger brother, the Ceed. It'll arrive on Irish shores by the autumn, with the same 1.0 and 1.1-litre petrol engines, and prices should remain pretty much the same.

VW Ireland boosts GOAL charity funds

Volkswagen main dealers from all parts of Ireland have donated some
€33,800 to the Irish charity GOAL. The money, made up from dealer
donations backed by matching funds from the Volkswagen organisation, will
go towards funding work being undertaken by the Third-World relief agency
amongst disadvantaged children in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.

Under this programme, the money provided by Volkswagen and its dealer
organisation - whose purchasing power on the ground in Ethiopia is
calculated at more than twenty times its face value - will help finance a
programme that supports up to 700 children in the 5/17 years age group in
any given year.

As part of an even larger budget, it will help provide basic needs such as
shelter, food, health care and primary education plus the provision of life
skills training, sports and recreation facilities aimed at reintegrating
street children back into their communities.

A second strand of the programme focuses on older boys and girls living on
the street through the development of their entrepreneurial skills or
vocational skills training and the provision of peer housing accommodation
and a small living allowance.

Pictured presenting the cheque to GOAL founder John O’Shea were (left to
right) Tom O’Connor, sales manger Volkswagen, with dealer representatives
Ron Hogan (Frank Hogan Limited, Limerick) and James McCormack (Western
Motors, Galway).