Cars news

• Mildred Petre: The hero behind Bentley's most extreme machine

  27-01-2026 13:00 via autocar.co.uk
  A pilot, power boater and supremely talented driver, we're glad Mildred Petre is being rememberedBentley recently revealed its "most driver-focused" car so far, a 675bhp V8-powered, rear-wheel-drive, carbonfibre-covered coupé known internally as... Mildred.
  No, the codename was not inspired by the long-suffering wife in George & Mildred but a swashbuckling hero of road and track – and sky and sea.
  She was born as Mildred Petre in 1895 but found fame as Mrs Victor Bruce following
  
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• Northern Ireland first in UK to introduce graduated driving licences

  27-01-2026 11:56 via autocar.co.uk
  New drivers will be required to display 'R' plate for two years | Image: Getty Images
  Due to begin in October, the new GDL system will limit freedoms for young and novice drivers to cut crashesNorthern Ireland will become the first country in the UK to introduce a graduated driving licence system for young and novice drivers, in a bid to reduce serious and fatal collisions.
  Due to be introduced on 1 October, the graduated driving licences (GDLs) will impose a night-time restriction on drivers ag
  
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• Lancia In Freefall As Sales Plunge In 2025

  27-01-2026 11:33 via motor1.com
  
  The historic brand's relaunch isn't going as planned.
  
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• How epic failures can help car companies improve

  27-01-2026 11:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Ford’s bold Edsel flopped, then the Mustang soared; high-flying foul-ups often tell a more interesting taleUnsuccessful cars can sometimes be much more interesting than slam-dunk winners. Give me a Leyland P76 over, say, the Mk1 Volkswagen Golf, launched around the same time.
  It’s not just the vicarious interest of witnessing a metaphorical car crash that captivates me – it’s also the story behind it. No company sets out to make a turkey, but the way it was baked, nonethe
  
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• EVs Outsell Pure Gas Cars In Europe For The First Time Ever

  27-01-2026 09:26 via motor1.com
  
  December 2025 sales show that electric vehicles were more popular than gas-only cars.
  
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• Peugeot is 'thinking about' building a new flagship above 5008

  27-01-2026 09:00 via autocar.co.uk
  New car could serve as a halo product for the brand but would need to be "really different" to stand out, says bossPeugeot is “thinking about” launching a model positioned above its flagship 5008, boss Alain Favey has told Autocar.
  But to be successful, “it would need to be something really different” so it could stand out against rivals, he said, referencing the difficulties the axed 508 had in a segment that included premium offerings such as the Audi A4 and BMW 3
  
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• 5000 miles in a Polestar 3: An intriguing car with one 'key' problem

  27-01-2026 07:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Stylish EV signs off, but has it been a fulfilling time or a frustrating one?We've long been promised cars of quite different shapes and sizes thanks to the advent of EVs and the skateboard-style architectures on which they're based. But instead we seem to have been treated to a series of slightly taller and visually uninspiring hatchbacks.
  The Polestar 3, though, really is something different. In its profile and proportions, I'm struggling to pick a direct rival or even say what it reminds me o
  
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• The Volkswagen ID.4 Might Get A New Name: ID. Tiguan

  26-01-2026 21:00 via motor1.com
  
  The company announced last year it would revert to proper names for its electric vehicles.  
  
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• Singer's First DLS Turbo Is A 700-HP Stunner

  26-01-2026 18:00 via motor1.com
  
  Dubbed "The Sorcerer", this reimagined 964 pays homage to the 934/5 Porsche race cars from the 1970s.
  
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• Ram CEO Would 'Love' A Ford Maverick Rival—But Don't Hold Your Breath

  26-01-2026 17:00 via motor1.com
  
  Unfortunately, we probably won't see a Maverick-rivaling Ram anytime soon.
  
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• Porsche Celebrates 75 Years Of Racing With A Daytona Three-Peat

  26-01-2026 15:36 via motor1.com
  
  Porsche won its third Daytona in a row. The team tells us what it means for the company's legacy.
  
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• New Renault Duster revealed: India's seminal B-SUV reinvented

  26-01-2026 14:30 via autocar.co.uk
  Mk1 Renault Duster "started the compact SUV segment" in India. Now it's back – and more bespoke than everRenault has revealed the second generation of its hugely popular Duster crossover for India, as the next step in its £2.2 billion plan to dramatically grow market share outside of Europe.
  Similar-looking but unrelated to the Dacia Duster sold in Europe, the chunky new addition to Renault's line-up is the follow-up to a car that Renault claims "started the compact SUV segment"
  
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• Jaguar commits to all-EV future, calling hybrid rumours "rubbish"

  26-01-2026 13:37 via autocar.co.uk
  Newspaper report that claimed incoming electric GT would get a petrol-engined option has been dispelledJLR has extinguished reports that it will offer a range-extender or hybrid powertrain option for the incoming Jaguar Type 00 – and a senior source has branded the notion to Autocar as “rubbish”.
  A report over the weekend, citing a source close to the project’s development, claimed that JLR had instructed engineers to develop a petrol-engined system for the new
  
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• Jaguar's New Radical EV Might Have A Gas Engine After All

  26-01-2026 13:25 via motor1.com
  
  The combustion engine would act like a generator to charge the battery, addressing range anxiety.
  
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• Audi Design Chief Blasts Screen Obsession: 'Technology For The Sake Of Technology'

  26-01-2026 12:05 via motor1.com
  
  His Mercedes counterpart couldn’t disagree more.
  
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• European carmakers are struggling to move away from cell-to-body

  26-01-2026 12:00 via autocar.co.uk
  China has moved away from the heavy battery box, but European makers aren’t finding it so easyEuropean car makers are struggling to move forward with a key improvement to their EV construction, in a situation that a key supplier has called “completely crazy” and a “mess”.
  Cell-to-body construction is a much more efficient way to package the battery in an electric car and has helped Chinese makers including BYD build EVs faster and more cheaply. 
  But car ma
  
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• European car makers' EV battery strategy is 'completely crazy'

  26-01-2026 12:00 via autocar.co.uk
  China has moved away from the heavy battery box, but European makers aren’t finding it so easyEuropean car makers are struggling to move forward with a key improvement to their EV construction, in a situation that a key supplier has called “completely crazy” and a “mess”.
  Cell-to-body construction is a much more efficient way to package the battery in an electric car and has helped Chinese makers including BYD build EVs faster and more cheaply. 
  But car ma
  
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• "Completely crazy": Euro carmakers struggle with cell-to-body move

  26-01-2026 12:00 via autocar.co.uk
  China has moved away from the heavy battery box, but European makers aren’t finding it so easyEuropean car makers are struggling to move forward with a key improvement to their EV construction, in a situation that a key supplier has called “completely crazy” and a “mess”.
  Cell-to-body construction is a much more efficient way to package the battery in an electric car and has helped Chinese makers including BYD build EVs faster and more cheaply. 
  But car ma
  
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• Bertone's New V6 Retro Sports Car Has Pop-Up Headlights

  26-01-2026 09:32 via motor1.com
  
  The modern Runabout is built on a Lotus chassis with a Toyota V6 engine.
  
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• What's wrong with a sat-nav that points North?

  26-01-2026 09:00 via autocar.co.uk
  'Direction of travel' nav display modes are fostering cartographical impotenceIt's time, comrades, for the uprising. Time for the overlooked and marginalised to rebalance the scales. We've waited too long already. We must act- and we must do it on behalf of good, right-thinking, sensible drivers everywhere.
  The scourge of the god-awful 'direction of travel' satellite navigation display mode has its boot on our throats; it can no longer be borne. It's time to reclaim satellite navigation as a use
  
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• The V12 Aston Martin you can buy for the price of a Golf

  26-01-2026 08:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Bag a 200mph, four-seat, James Bond-approved GT for two-thirds off the new priceAston Martin’s ‘DB’ lineage of sporting GTs began in 1948 with the DB1, the first product under the ownership of David Brown.
  By 2016 Aston was 12 years into production of the elegant Aston Martin DB9, but that car was starting to feel behind the times, and sales and profits were on the decline.
  Then the Aston Martin DB11 arrived, with a new, more aggressive design by Marek Reichman, proven Mercedes
  
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• Citroen Picasso comeback on cards as brand plots new 'sexy' MPVs

  26-01-2026 06:00 via autocar.co.uk
  ELO concept hints at intent to get back into MPV market, and it could adopt a familiar nameCitroën could channel the spirit of the old Picasso, because it believes an MPV revival is on the cards.
  The brand showed the radical ELO concept late last year as a vision of what a supermini-sized six-seater could look like. Although bosses have not yet given it the green light for production, it hints at a plan to bring back the traditional people carrier.
  Citroën was once a front-runner in th
  
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• Radical Bertone Runabout finally makes production with 469bhp

  25-01-2026 16:30 via autocar.co.uk
  Iconic concept reborn as Exige-bodied sports car with 397bhp per tonne and £400,000 price tagThe Bertone Runabout concept, which found fame in the 1960s with its radical wedge-shaped design, has finally reached production more than five decades after it was shown as a one-off. 
  The 1969 Marcello Gandini-penned Runabout combined a roofless and doorless body with a 1.1-litre Autobianchi powertrain. 
  Its outlandish design went on to influence Fiat's X1/9 sports car of 1972. 
  Th
  
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• Why I love recovery patrols: An ode to the hard shoulder hero

  25-01-2026 07:00 via autocar.co.uk
  When your car lets you down, a knight in orange armour will be there to get you moving againThere's nothing worse for the DIY-agnostic car enthusiast than getting a phone call from someone asking what's wrong with their motor.
  "Any idea why it won't turn over, mate?" "It wasn't making that knocking noise yesterday." "Should the sump have water in it?" You want to help, but armed with such scarce information and not being au fait with the mechanical intricacies of every car ever made, you can onl
  
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• P24 RS is Donkervoort's most extreme model ever with 600bhp V6

  24-01-2026 19:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Two-seat sports car's powerplant can be set in three varying tunes – and this can uniquely be altered on the flyThe stripped-back, aero-focused P24 RS is the latest creation from Dutch maker Donkervoort – and it is the most powerful model in its 48-year history.
  As the follow-up to the F22 from 2022, the P24 RS is the firm’s 20th model and, while extreme, is billed as its most accessible car to drive yet. It could also be the first Donkervoort to be offered in a right-hand-driv
  
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• This Dutch Sports Car Packs A Ford GT Engine: Meet The Donkervoort P24 RS

  24-01-2026 18:24 via motor1.com
  
  The P24 RS has 600 horsepower and a five-speed manual transmission—and it's coming to America.
  
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• Donkervoort Shoved A Ford GT Engine Into Its New Sports Car: Meet The P24 RS

  24-01-2026 18:24 via motor1.com
  
  The P24 RS packs 600 horsepower and a five-speed manual transmission—and it's coming to America.
  
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• Why it has not been so easy being green for the white van in the UK

  24-01-2026 15:00 via theguardian.com
  Electric van sales are behind government targets, but those fleets that have switched are seeing a real differenceSwinging a fully laden electric van around a training centre in Bishop’s Stortford feels easy, with instant acceleration that belies the racks of heavy equipment in the back. Perhaps too easy, as the sudden shriek of its proximity sensor suggests the Guardian was a whisker away from a bill for some new paintwork.The van in question belongs to Openreach, BT’s fibre broadba
  
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• Is there a future for contract manufacturing in Europe?

  24-01-2026 11:00 via autocar.co.uk
  The now unused Jaguar production line at Magna Steyr, Austria
  Likes of Valmet and Magna Steyr have declined from making some 500,000 cars pre-Covid to 100,000 nowThe European car industry is facing decline.
  Sales in 2025 remain roughly 25% below pre-Covid levels, while production has dropped by around 20% as manufacturers have been forced to close factories or fall into overcapacity.
  Factories that were once major contributors to Europe’s economy have been shuttered, including many last ye
  
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• When Autocar took a factory Range Rover to the ‘demonic’ Dakar

  24-01-2026 09:00 via autocar.co.uk
  JLR claims a works debut for the new Defender - but Autocar raced a factory-owned Range Rover to Dakar in 1981The three Defenders that tackled this year's Dakar Rally represented the first works entry on the gruelling rally raid from JLR or its predecessors.
  But it wasn't the first time that a manufacturer-owned Land Rover had competed – and Autocar was a key part of the story.
  The Paris-Dakar Rally began in 1979, charting a roughly 6200-mile route between the capitals of France and Senega
  
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• How the Defender became a rally-raid winner

  24-01-2026 07:00 via autocar.co.uk
  After five decades, the Dakar Rally has finally attracted a works Land Rover entryThe Dakar Rally bivouac is a vast, sprawling, transient community, a ragtag collection of vans, trucks and tents sprouting from the hardscrabble Arabian Desert.
  Walking through the camp is like stepping into the world of Mad Max, a disparate cast of thousands tending to a bewildering array of outlandish vehicles, from bikes to buggies and lorries.
  But in the middle of that camp for this year's Dakar, there was a li
  
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• The F1 Movie Was Nominated For Four Oscars—Including Best Picture

  23-01-2026 19:00 via motor1.com
  
  F1: The Movie gets the nod for Best Editing, Best Visual Effects, and Best Sound. But it's up against some stiff competition.
  
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• This Hybrid Limousine Concept Is Fit For A Bond Villain

  23-01-2026 17:42 via motor1.com
  
  Aznom presents the L'Epoque concept, a 26-foot limousine with 1,000 horsepower and a 1930s-inspired design.
  
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• UK ministers urged to release ‘withheld’ safety reports on smart motorways

  23-01-2026 16:09 via theguardian.com
  Campaigners believe evaluations have been suppressed as they cast further doubt on safety and economic benefitsUK politics live – latest updatesRoad campaigners and motoring organisations have urged UK government ministers to immediately release a series of “withheld” safety assessments of smart motorways – some dating back to 2022.Designed to increase capacity, smart motorways have the hard shoulder converted into a live lane of traffic, relying on occasional laybys and
  
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• Ministers urged to release ‘withheld’ safety reports on Britain’s smart motorways

  23-01-2026 16:09 via theguardian.com
  Campaigners believe evaluations have been suppressed as they cast further doubt on safety and economic benefitsUK politics live – latest updatesRoad campaigners and motoring organisations have urged ministers to immediately release a series of “withheld” safety assessments of Britain’s smart motorways – some dating back to 2022.Designed to increase capacity, smart motorways have the hard shoulder converted into a live lane of traffic, relying on occasional laybys an
  
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• BMW's Electric M3 Will Have Fake V10 Engine Sounds

  23-01-2026 15:00 via motor1.com
  
  BMW is using the sounds from some of its most iconic engines for its next performance EV.
  
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• We didn’t ask for 'smart' cars - so why are we getting them?

  23-01-2026 14:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Modern car tech does a lots of different things, and not all of them are goodDo you own a smart fridge? The probable answer is no, you don't. In fact you're twice as likely to have no idea what a smart home appliance is than be one of three in 100 people in the UK who own one.
  Smart appliances are those that are in some way connected to the internet or a home network. From a chiller perspective, this means your fridge will turn from a machine that keeps your food cold and has a little light that
  
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• 'Boring Transportation Company': Stellantis Dealers Take Aim At Old Management

  23-01-2026 12:22 via motor1.com
  
  The Stellantis National Dealer Council says Carlos Tavares pushed cost-cutting too hard.
  
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• Faster and cheaper: How the Cupra Leon R beat VW at its own game

  23-01-2026 12:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Sharp dynamics, a 221bhp punch and all from £5000 – the Leon Cupra R is a certifiable bargainAMK. Or BAM. These are critical characters you must search for while grubbing about beneath the bonnet of any first-generation Seat Leon Cupra R on your buying horizon.
  They’re part of the engine’s identification code, found on its offside front, the first trio of letters denoting the 207bhp 1.8 20-valve motor of 2002, or the 221bhp version that arrived a year later. If you c
  
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• Bugatti Almost Made An Even More Powerful Veyron

  23-01-2026 10:01 via motor1.com
  
  The ultimate Veyron would've had 1,341 horsepower or even more.
  
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• Next DS No4 to be 'completely different' take on family hatch

  23-01-2026 09:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Work on next French A-Class rival has begun, with designers aiming to "express a different, brand new concept"DS will look to do something “completely different” and “revolutionary” with the next-generation No4, design chief Thierry Métroz has revealed to Autocar.
  At the end of last year, the French premium brand unveiled the heavily refreshed DS 4, which itself ushered in a new look that was inspired by the radically different No8 flagship.
  But, looking further ah
  
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• Forza Horizon 6 Gameplay Trailer: 550 Cars, A Huge Japan Map, And Even Touge Battles

  23-01-2026 01:57 via motor1.com
  
  Forza Horizon 6 is promising the largest urban area in Horizon's history, a recreation of Daikoku PA, and 550 cars to choose from.
  
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• BMW iX3 wins What Car? Car of the Year

  23-01-2026 00:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Long range, rapid charging and character secure a win for BMW's new-age EVWhat Car? has named the BMW iX3 its Car of the Year for 2026. 
  The electric SUV won plaudits from Autocar’s consumer-focused sibling title for its 500-mile range, 400kW charging capability and for being one of the best big cars to drive. 
  What Car? editor Steve Huntingford said the iX3 represents “a stepchange in capability” for EVs.
  It is the fourth time a BMW has won the award, following 2017&
  
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• Europe Is Getting The Chinese Lancia Stratos, And We're Jealous

  22-01-2026 19:30 via motor1.com
  
  The Chinese sports car makes 429 horsepower and will hit 62 miles per hour in just 2.9 seconds.
  
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• This One-Off Ferrari 12Cilindri Was Designed By Korean Artists

  22-01-2026 16:30 via motor1.com
  
  Four young artists from South Korea transformed this 12Cilindri into a one-of-a-kind supercar.
  
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• Volvo has got the band back together

  22-01-2026 15:51 via autocar.co.uk
  Returns of CEO Håkan Samuelsson and designer Thomas Ingenlath could reignite the Swedish car makerVolvo was one of the biggest industry success stories of the 2010s, doing what no other car maker has done in the modern era by breaking out of the mainstream and becoming a true premium player.
  The cars, designed by Thomas Ingenlath, looked great and the business performed even better, setting sales records six years in a row under CEO Håkan Samuelsson, to whom we awarded our
  
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• Bugatti FKP Hommage one-off unveiled as 1578bhp Veyron tribute

  22-01-2026 14:01 via autocar.co.uk
  Bespoke Solitaire division pays tribute to former VW chief Ferdinand Piech following W16 BrouillardBugatti has unveiled the FKP Hommage, a one-off hyper-GT that has been conceived as the “ultimate Veyron” in tribute to the groundbreaking model, says the company’s design chief.
  The new car – named in honour of Ferdinand Karl Piëch, the former Volkswagen Group boss who was responsible for the transformational Veyron project – is based on the Chiron and uses the m
  
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• Bugatti's Latest One-Off Is A 1,578-HP Tribute To The Veyron

  22-01-2026 14:00 via motor1.com
  
  The new Bugatti pays tribute to the original Veyron and its creator, Prof. Dr. Ferdinand Karl Piëch.
  
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• Hyundai Ioniq 6 N offers 641bhp and 302-mile range for £65,800

  22-01-2026 12:20 via autocar.co.uk
  Brand's second sports EV can hit 62mph in 3.2secUK order books have opened for the Hyundai Ioniq 6 N, with the 641bhp super-saloon priced from £65,800.
  Hyundai’s second electric performance car, it is significantly upgraded compared with the regular Ioniq 6.
  In addition to the high-output dual-motor powertrain, which allows it to dispatch the 0-62mph sprint in 3.2sec and hit 160mph, it gets electrically-adjustable dampers and an electronic limited-slip differential. 
  Its 84kWh b
  
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• Buying an old BMW sent me down a numberplate rabbit hole

  22-01-2026 11:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Send help and the name of the font that the BMW press office used for its plates in 1990When you buy an old car, it's easy to get pulled into various internet rabbit holes - buying guides, common problems, popular upgrades, that sort of thing. But I've set foot in a particularly deep and magnetic one-one to rival QAnon and Pizzagate: numberplates.
  Modern UK plates are sensible and a bit boring. There's only one legal font and the first two pairs of numbers and letters tell you roughly where and
  
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