It must be one of the biggest industrial switch-over programmes in history. For over a decade, Volkswagen's 1.9 litre TDI engine with its Pumpe-Düse (PD) injection system has been providing solid service in millions of cars all over the world. VW PD engines generally provide fairly lively performance but are also rather rough and tend to deliver their go over a fairly narrow band of revs. Diesels using the common rail (CR) system first adopted by Fiat and Mercedes tend to be smoother, and a few years ago, Volkswagen bowed to the inevitable and introduced common rail engines of its own, beginning a long-drawn out programme of migration that will probably one day see the 1.9 PD entirely replaced by these more modern power units.

Alfa Romeo’s Golf-sized Giulietta has achieved a top five-star rating in Euro-NCAP safety tests, which were toughened last year, and it will still qualify as a five-star car when the standards are further tightened in 2012. The new model scored 87/100 in detailed NCAP assessments, higher than any other model in this bracket.

A bus poster which read: "There definitely is a God" attracted more complaints than any other advert in 2009, the Advertising Standards Authority said today.

The sound of scraping metal gears, a plume of smoke from the exhaust pipe, coming to an embarrassing and untimely stop on the side of the motorway... this is the all-too familiar tale of motoring holidays in the Volkswagen Type 2 T1, aka the Splitscreen, the Microbus, the Splittie, the Bully, the Vee Dub, the Hippie-van – or, to non-diehards, the VW Campervan.

Price: £24,705
Top speed: 136mph 0-62mph 8.6 seconds
Consumption: 38.7mpg
CO2 emissions: 170g/km
Best for: Audi buyers in search of a bargain
Also worth considering? Ford Mondeo, Vauxhall Insignia, Volkswagen Passat estates

Skoda has introduced Greenline eco versions of its recently facelifted Fabia and Roomster models. These are the first of its so-called second-generation Greenline models, which incorporate a number of new technical tweaks that allow them to improve on the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of the first Greenline badged cars

Volkswagen has shown a modified version of its large Phaeton saloon at the Beijing Motor Show. The changes are mainly cosmetic; there are tweaks to the front and rear lights, for example, and a new radiator grille that brings the Phaeton's "face" more into line with the latest Volkswagen look. The external alterations are matched by detailed modifications to the Phaeton's interior. Two engines will be offered; a 3.0 litre V6 diesel providing 240 horsepower and VW's big 6.0litre W12 petrol engine.

Volkswagen has carried out a round of updates to its handsome Passat CC. The two biggest changes are the adoption of sat-nav – usually a pricey option - as standard across the range, and the introduction of a five-seat layout in place of the previous unusual four-seat set-up in which the rear seat was designed to take only two passengers. The original seating configuration was a nod towards the Passat CC's positioning as a "four-door coupé" in the mould of the much more expensive Mercedes CLS.

Volkswagen is offering all buyers of its new cars a fixed-price deal that provides three years of routine servicing for a fee of £250. The price is the same for all models, so represents a particularly attractive offer for buyers of the company's more expensive and sophisticated models such as the Touareg 4x4 and the Phaeton luxury saloon. Coverage is restricted to the first 30,000 miles of the car's life.

Skoda has introduced a new high-performance version of the Fabia. The vRS has a 1.4 litre petrol engine fitted with both an engine-driven supercharger and an exhaust-driven turbocharger, a combination that is good for some 180 horsepower. That's enough to propel the vRS, in either hatchback or estate form, to 100km/h (62mph) in just 7.3 seconds. VW's second-generation seven-speed DSG gearbox is fitted, and there are a variety of cosmetic tweaks that distinguish the vRS from other Fabias.

Alfa Romeo has released the first official pictures of the Giulietta, the replacement for the Golf-sized 147, which will be shown to the public for the first time at this week's Geneva Motor Show.