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Mitsubishi Lancer Evo axedMitsubishi has confirmed it will not develop an Evolution XI to follow the current model, with a spokesperson saying there were no plans for another generation of the iconic rally legend. However while they are farewelling the Evo, there is hope for development of another performance model utilising the Japanese brand's focus on electric vehicles.2015 Holden Cruze | spy shotsGeneral Motors’ next Cruze world car has been scooped in a totally undisguised state in a Shanghai holding yard, previewing the model we’ll see as the replacement for the locally manufactured Holden JH Series II model.Schumacher’s wife building $18m home medical suiteThe wife of seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher is reported to be preparing a £10 million ($17.9 million) medical facility at their family mansion in anticipation of her husband being forced out of his current hospital intensive care unit place.Carmakers get in on April Fools Day adsCar brands love April Fools Day, using it as a channel to let off some marketing steam even more ludicrous than some of their regular advertisements and merchandising. And we love it too, because no car idea is too ridiculous to consider.

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An adrenalin rush at the wheel of a rented Lamborghini Gallardo ended in a roaring crash into a Flinders surf shop on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula.Patrons at the Flinders Hotel put down their beers as the yellow Gallardo -- believed to have been hired as a birthday celebration --  careered out of control through a roundabout, took out some poles on sleepy Cook St and let out a roar as it launched into the vacant shop near the pub."He came from the pier end flew through," one witness said. The driver, believed to be a man in his 30s, suffered a minor injury but seemed fine after the incident. "He was laughing about it, thought it was funny," she said.The witness said the Lamborghini, owned by Ultimate Driver, is one of three regularly seen being driven around the area. Its front end crumpled on impact and will require extensive repair. Its pricey 5.2-litre 10-cylinder engine -- which generates 412kW of power and 540Nm of torque -- however, is behind the driver.It has been reported the fast supercar was rented for the man's birthday. The Lamborghini Gallardo price tags start at around $400,000 for the current model, which is being phased out with a new Lambo on the way. 

Vehicle retailer and logistics company Automotive Holdings has struck a deal to acquire Scott's Refrigerated Freightways, and agreed to a proposed purchase of NSW car dealership Bradstreet Motor Group.The company said the addition of Scott's Refrigerated Freightways would consolidate its position as the largest provider of refrigerated transport in Australia.Its purchase of Bradstreet Motor Group would take its retail network to 169 franchises at 96 dealership locations across Australia and New Zealand. Scott's, based in Sydney, operates national refrigerated road and rail transport, plus local refrigerated transport and warehousing.The price of about $116 million for Scott's comprises $71 million in cash, $15 million of Automotive Holdings share, and the assumption of about $30 million of finance leases. The proposed acquisition of Bradstreet Motor Group will cost $68 million cash.

Gary Hartstein, F1 sport's chief doctor between 2005 and 2012, said he had information from "usually impeccable sources" that Schumacher's care had been mismanaged.The lapses "could, and almost certainly did, worsen the outcome in Michael's case", Hartstein said, but he did not reveal what the medical mismanagement was, the Daily Mail reported.Hartstein said that the "terribly dismal prognosis" of Schumacher's long-term recovery prospects had led to his carers at the University Hospital in Grenoble, France, not encouraging his family to transfer him to a specialised clinic better equipped to deal with people in long-term comas."It is possible that the staff at Grenoble feel duty-bound to not place any pressure on the family to transfer out, despite the terribly dismal prognosis ... because of the clear (but unquantifiable) contribution of medical misjudgement to that prognosis," Hartstein wrote in his latest medical blog.Schumacher has now been in a coma for 87 days since a ski accident during a family holiday and Hartstein said it was now unlikely that the Ferrari legend would ever recover. "As time goes on it becomes less and less likely that Michael will emerge to any significant extent," Hartstein said. 

The French relationship with high heels has been called into question by a court ruling, which says they can be dangerous on the road. France's Supreme Court found high heels could prevent drivers from "executing conveniently and without delay all the necessary manoeuvres". Other habits -- smoking, listening to the radio and chatting -- were also denounced as hazardous by judge Laurence Flise in a written ruling made public yesterday.The judgment came after an 11-year legal battle over a car crash that left a seven-year-old girl dead, three people seriously injured and seven more with minor injuries. The court found the driver's high-heeled sandals were a contributing factor after they got caught under the pedals.The driver of a Daewoo, named as Dorothea Z-A, lost control of her car at Vignale in Corsica in August 2002 and skidded into a car coming the other way. She claimed damages for her injuries, scars and time off work. The Civil Court in Bastia, Corsica, upheld her case, awarding her E252,186 from Generali, the insurer of the car she hit. The city's Appeal Court overturned that decision in 2012, when it ruled Mrs Z-A had been at fault.There were seven people in her car, although it only had room for five, including five children, none of whom had seatbelts or child seats. There was a dog in the back, and the boot was laden with shopping. The Appeal Court said that the overloading could have caused Mrs Z-A to lose control of her car, especially as she was wearing "high-heeled shoes which were stuck under the pedals; was listening to the radio; was talking with her passengers; and admitted that she sometimes smoked a cigarette". 

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