Getting an electric car right depends on making driving long distances viable. Jamie Merrill goes behind the scenes – and under the bonnet – of a new model.

Valerie Checkers paid £800 for a Ford Mondeo, which has gone badly wrong. She needs to replace it with something cheap but reliable and has £500 to spare.

Adam Hinton wants to tow his large horsebox. He does 50 miles a day on the school run for his three children, shopping and his commute, and has up to £4,000 to spend.

A Chelsea parking attendant claims he has been sacked – for being too nice. But is he just the exception who proves the rule? Rob Hastings gets his notebook and joins a warden on patrol...

It's not quite the season for raspberry pie but a small technological charity hopes it might be the time for Raspberry Pi.

Jane Ballantyne has arthritis and needs a comfortable car. It must be automatic, economical, have a firm, high driving seat, be compact but have five doors. The budget is £15,000.

Traditional planning put cars at the centre of our streets but a radical rethink of how modern cities work could change all that.

Robin Lawrence is 42, married, with three young children. He needs to replace his 1999 Volkswagen Passat 1.8T and has £2,000 to spend on a family runaround that will also cope with longer trips to visit relatives.

Britain's road and rail networks are to get a multibillion pound upgrade as George Osborne attempts to build his way to economic recovery.

Congratulations to Mrs Rosemary Gault, who has passed her driving test at age 70. She has a flexible £4,000 to spend and is not bothered about mileage or age, but most of all needs five seats. Oh yes, the licence is for automatic cars only.

Orna Kustow is thinking of replacing her 2007 Renault Grand Scenic for a smaller car but does not want to lose the Scenic's high seating position. Could we suggest a super-mini or small family car?

Rob Knight wants to economise from two cars to one. It will have to fit three teenagers in comfort, plus be cheap to run and have decent boot space. Ideally he does not want a people carrier or a 4x4. His budget is up to £15,000.

Ferrari's new 458 is a blast – not least in the noise department

Emily Stephens is 22 and wants to buy her first car. She is baffled by the situation and doesn't understand the difference between makes, models and engine sizes. All she knows is that she wants an economical car that will be good value. Though she has £8,000 to spend, Emily would prefer to spend below £5,000.

The M25 is all this and more. As the motorway marks its quarter century, Sean O'Grady rallies to the defence of 'the world's biggest car park', circumnavigating the orbital's chequered history.