Nudge, by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein has been a phenomenon: the British government considered implementing their ideas to encourage healthier living and a more responsible attitude towards saving for our retirement; schools are using their suggestions to encourage healthier eating amongst students; universities use it in much the same way to discourage excessive drinking; and Schiphol airport authorities (well, specifically those responsible for urine spillage in the…

Peugeot suffered a drop in form in recent years – and it’s entirely its own fault. The problem is that Peugeot is best known for producing small, sporty hatchbacks and when it didn’t offer a sub-1.4-litre engine option in the 207 – a capacity that accounts for more than 40 percent of the market – it excluded a lot of potential buyers. This was a Very Silly Thing to do….

Conventional wisdom has it that electric vehicles are impractical, their limited range precluding their use as a ‘proper’ family car. This is, it has to be said, an argument that is hard to refute. The Renault Fluence Z.E. that I drove recently is a terrific family car within its own (somewhat limited) environment – but you couldn’t take it on holiday with you. Enter, stage left, the Chevrolet Volt, already…

Fiat’s tiny 500s have always been cool; poverty spec cars that revel in their minimalism with no hint of piousness. Functional, stripped-bare and a hoot to drive, the 21st century reincarnation has been welcomed by a generation for whom style and functionality are inseparable. Fiat claim that their TwinAir engine, which I’ve been driving this week, is the cleanest quantity production engine in the world. The turbo-charged 875cc twin-cylinder engine…

I don’t like electrically-powered cars as a rule. It seems to me that a hybrid car is a fine example of fudged engineering that also sits uneasily with my credentials as a bona fide car enthusiast. The use of a petrol engine as a power source in conjunction with an electric motor is a cop-out and an excuse not to do things properly. I understand that battery range, capacity and…