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BMW chief hits back at Rover critics

Motor industry: Pischetsrieder shrugs off falling sales... as VW strikes landmark union deal

how to fly a chopper

Next time you're stuck, fuming, in yet more traffic mayhem, cast your mind upwards to those elite beings in helicopters, buzzing, high in the sky above us.

Lotus comes up with a speedy response to departures

Lotus, the engineering and sports cars group, has appointed former Ford special vehicles chief Rod Mansfield (left) as its managing director following last week's sudden departure of Adrian Palmer. Mr Mansfield is joined by Neeraj Kapur (right) who takes the post of finance director, also abruptly vacated by Andrew Tempest. Lotus, which is owned by Bugatti International, said that the company remained strong and was not affected by financial problems at the automotive arm of the Bugatti group. The company declined to comment on reports that Lotus was about to be bought by Shivagi Rao, a wealthy Indian entrepreneur.

THE MATERIAL WORLD / only pounds 634,500, car included

This is the most sought-after wing mirror in the world. It is made by Citroen, and is available from Citroen dealers for pounds 72.55. They cannot sell you a car to go with it, because the model for which it was made, the CX, went out of producti on in 1989. But you can buy a car with these wing mirrors: they are fitted to the McLaren F1 supercar, which costs pounds 634,500. If you want something cheaper, you'll find them on the Jaguar XJ220, the Aston Martin Vantage, the Lotus Esprit, the AC Ace , and the TVR Griffith and Chimaera.

Bid to rattle the windows at Microsoft

David Usborne reports from New York on what IBM hopes to gain from taking over Lotus

Lotus takeover means expansion

PETER RODGERS

OBITUARY : Frank Costin

Frank Costin's name will be forever linked with the sleek green body which graced the Vanwall cars entered in grands prix in the 1950s by the millionaire industrialist Tony Vandervell. Costin's work on that car's distinctive aerodynamics was seminal, yet was but part of his story.

Drive on and don't look back

Iam sorry to hear that the Lotus Grand Prix team isn't dead. In truth, it died many years ago, not long after its founder, Colin Chapman, passed away in 1982. In practice, it struggled on, post-Chapman, sustained by Britain's endless enthusiasm for nostalgia and history and because a few die-hards risked all on some major sponsor bankrolling the magic of the Lotus name. The inevitable happened late last year. Lotus's GP team joined Colin Chapman in the grave.

Lotus return in new alliance : MOTOR RACING

The Lotus Formula One team, which announced last month that it was to fold and would not taking part in this year's World Championship, said yesterday that it was merging with the Pacific Grand Prix team.

It started with a loan of £25 and grew to dominate Formula One. Derick Allsop on the Lotus magic

Some are still talking lovingly, optimistically, about restoring Lotus to motor racing, but as with the old family favourite on bricks at the back of the yard, you have to wonder whether it will ever get out on to the road again.

Motor Racing: Financial problems force Lotus' closure

Lotus have pulled out of this year's Formula One world championship, and despite the endeavours of David Hunt, the new owner, it seems the most evocative name in British motor racing will be consigned to history.

Hopes receding for survival of Lotus

MOTOR RACING : Attempts to salvage Lotus, once the world's premier Grand Prix team, could be called off today. Another, and perhaps final, announcement on the marque's prospects is due from the office of David Hunt, the businessman who has tried to put together a rescue package.

Motor Racing: Mystery buyer saves Lotus

The debt-ridden British Formula One team Lotus will compete in the last two grands prix of the season after being snapped up by a mystery buyer. Anita Smith, a spokeswoman for the Norfolk outfit, confirmed yesterday that the company, which has debts of more than pounds 10m, was no longer in administration and that the 90 jobs at Ketteringham Hall had been saved.

Dear Carol Thatcher: Congratulations on being such a good egg, despite being the less favoured twin in a family from hell. Praise to a good daughter from an agony aunt

Since you probably spent the last couple of days with the bed-covers pulled over your head wondering what on earth you did in your past life to be cursed with being reborn as a member of the Thatcher family, I'd just like to twitch the sheets back a bit and say don't worry. We're all on your side.
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National archives: Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Newly unearthed papers reveal a shocking extra dimension to the constitutional crisis over monarch’s abdication
Sent down at the Old Bailey: A tour of the world's most famous court

Sent down at the Old Bailey

A tour of the world's most famous court
Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

The Hangover actor Zach Galifianakis’s date for his movie premieres isn’t arm candy  – it’s his 87-year-old friend who he saved from homelessness
British football scores an own goal

British football scores an own goal

Many managers barely survive a year in post. Martin Baker talks to experts who make a case for clubs using forensic business skills to find the best staff
James Lawton: Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again

James Lawton

Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again
Dylan Hartley: Northampton have spent the season proving all our critics wrong

Dylan Hartley talks tough

Northampton have spent the season proving all our critics wrong
Watch out Watford: Here comes the secretive Bilderberg Group

Watch out Watford: Here comes the secretive Bilderberg Group

A meeting of global power brokers in a Hertfordshire hotel is exciting conspiracy theorists, but what are they really about?
'The ultimate all-in-one home entertainment system': Microsoft finally unveils its Xbox ONE console

'The ultimate all-in-one home entertainment system'

Microsoft finally unveils its Xbox ONE console
Plenty of Fish dating site founder pulls 'Intimate Encounters' option to ward off sleazy men

Plenty of sleaze

Dating website pulls intimate 'hook-up' section to curb harassment
Inferno author Dan Brown 'honoured' to be invited to join the Freemasons

The Freemasons’ Code

Dan Brown reveals the message that told him door to the lodge is open
Not secure any more: G4S boss heads for exit at last

Not secure any more: G4S boss heads for exit at last

Nick Buckles survived the Olympics débâcle and a £5bn bid fiasco but a profit warning finally triggered his downfall
How to say ‘I’m a sellout’: Tumblr’s David Karp’s message of reassurance to his staff sounded very familiar

How to say ‘I’m a sellout’

Tumblr’s David Karp’s message of reassurance to his staff sounded very familiar
Why clubs are keen to take a stand

Why clubs are keen to take a stand

There's a real desire around the grounds for safe standing. But will the authorities listen?
In the end the fans decided Tony Pulis had made a pig's ear of the job at Stoke City

In the end the fans decided Tony Pulis had made a pig's ear of the job at Stoke City

Disillusion with a siege mentality and negative playing style made change inevitable
James Lawton: The James Hunt I knew is the subject of a new F1 movie

James Lawton: The James Hunt I knew is the subject of a new F1 movie

British driver was fascinating man whose epic duel with Niki Lauda in 1976 was typical of an era of glamour and glory – but also the ever-present threat of death