1. Done out of Duty?

Finally the debate regarding the 2p duty increase planned for October can be laid to rest - for now.

Chancellor Darling has finally decided (obviously without the spectre of losing next week's Glasgow East by-election playing on his mind) to 'postpone' the unpopular extra taxation that had been planned. He has recognised that the rise in the global oil price has caused increased financial pressure to many, although it needs to be highlighted that the rise has not been scrapped altogether.

This postponement has been made easier by means of the extra £5.1 billion in revenue that the Government is forecasted to receive through windfall taxes generated from those very higher oil prices blamed for causing the problem in the first place. Talk about a win win situation.

2. Not the fastest MG

There has been speculation and rumour surrounding the plans of the company that bought MG and Rover since the sale in 2005. The Chinese owners, Nanjing Automobile, have always insisted that Longbridge has a future, but the final plans have never been made public. This, coupled with the constant chatter around the Chinese coming to shake-up the domination of the established brands in Europe, has meant that there has always been an air of expectation around the future of Longbridge.

There has been talk of all-new models, an updated version of the MG ZT and using the former spiritual home of the British motor industry as an assembly plant for models that had been manufactured in China.

Finally, this week we have had it confirmed that the master plan is to revive the TF sports car, a design that was penned over twelve years ago and produced on that very site until it was mothballed.

Not exactly a leap forward is it? The car was beginning to show its age when production ended three years ago. The motoring world has moved on since then, might this be just a case of too little, too late to make an impression?

3. Wireless is pointless

Apparently, there is a race among car manufacturers to introduce in-car Internet technology into their products. But if it's illegal to eat an apple whilst driving it does beg the question - what's the point? You won't be able to check your e-mails or surf the web whilst on the move, why would you want to?

The car is still a relative haven; get behind the wheel and onto the open road (if you can find some). It was never meant to be a desk on wheels.

Autowired - Editor