The good oil: Evoque's a real looker

The Range Rover Evoque. Photo / Supplied

The Range Rover Evoque has won the Car Design of the Year award at the Geneva motor show. It pipped the second-placed Alfa Romeo Giulietta and Audi A7 in the production category, voted on by car designers around the world. "The Evoque represents the best translation from concept car to production vehicle we have seen in recent times," said Car Design magazine editor, Eric Gallina. "It's clear to see why it was chosen." The jet-powered Jaguar C-X75 placed second in the concept category, behind the Pininfarina Duettottanta. The Evoque will go on sale in New Zealand later this year.

Bana from Heaven
The story of Australian actor Eric Bana's 25-year love affair with his Ford Falcon GT coupe screens on the Rialto channel later this month. It's billed as a simple tale of one man's continuing relationship with his very first car. Bana and three of his mates spent years restoring the early Aussie muscle car, before entering it in the gruelling Targa Tasmania rally. Those who have already seen it say it's a cracker documentary.

Trike to rule waves
New Zealand businessman Alan Gibbs is developing an amphibious three-wheeler, says a report from the US. His company, Gibbs Technologies, has secured patents for the trike, another in a line of land-and-water vehicles Gibbs' company has built. The trike has two wheels up front and one in the rear. On land, the engine sends power to the rear wheel. In water, the front wheels fold up and power is diverted to a pair of water jets, creating a Wave Runner-style contraption.

Fiat's green machines
Italy's Fiat recorded the lowest average CO2 exhaust emissions among vehicles sold in Europe in 2010. It was the fourth year in a row that Fiat has led the rankings. It recorded 123.1 grams per kilometre last year, 4.7 gr/km down on the 2009 average. Research specialist Jato Dynamics said Fiat also ranked first as an automotive group, with a 125.9gr/km average across all its brands (Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Ferrari and Maserati), an improvement of 5gr/km on 2009.

Going a Brit faster
The British Government is looking at raising the speed limit on motorways from 115km/h to 130km/h - and cutting it back in towns from 50km/h to 35km/h. Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said that decisive factors could include the economic benefits of faster travel, as well as environmental improvements. Britain's 115km/h motorway limit has been in force since 1965. In France and Italy the maximum speed is 130km/h, while in Ireland, Spain, Portugal and Belgium it is 120km/h. Parts of the German autobahn network have no speed limit at all. Hammond said: "We need to do this on a pretty rigorous cost-benefit analysis basis ... at the moment there are a clear set of criteria for making these decisions. Perhaps we ought to ask if we are using the right set of criteria."

We are the world
An American bloke with few clues has been driving around Washington state and trying to get lone woman drivers to pull over. He's been doing it for some time. Just the other day he motioned at a woman to stop. She ignored him. He then tried to ratchet up his credibility by holding up a hand-scrawled sign that read "Sheriff". She then stopped - at the next police station. A man has been arrested, said the Seattle Times.