Car News

In a two-and-a-half-hour press conference in Beirut, Lebanon, Carlos Ghosn, the former CEO of Renault and Nissan, has given a full-throated defence against the charges he was facing in Japan. Starting with an hour-long monologue to a packed conference room, Ghosn said he was detained in an "inhumane system of hostage justice" with a 99.4 per cent conviction rate.

Mitsubishi has given its Pajero Sport large 4WD an update for the 2020 model year, adding further ammunition with which to battle the Ford Everest, Isuzu MU-X, Toyota Fortuner, and Holden Trailblazer. Like the MY19 Triton ute upgrade (the Pajero Sport shares much of the pickup's running gear), the revised SUV looks tougher thanks to its 'dynamic shield' grille and headlight combination, higher bonnet, and new running lights and bumpers.

Nissan will have a new "acoustic meta-material" and twin-motor all-wheel drive electric drivetrain on display at CES 2020 in Las Vegas. Dubbed e-4orce (pronounced e-Force), the new system is said to incorporate learnings from both the GT-R's ATTESA E-TS and the Patrol's 4x4 systems. Although power and torque figures have yet to be released, Nissan promises it will "deliver balanced, predictable power and handling on par with many premium sports cars".

The 2020 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas has once again delivered future tech for the motoring masses. But how much of it will make it to showrooms and which gadgets are nothing but a flight of fancy? As a preview to CES 2020 here is our Top Five future motoring technologies that may or may not be coming soon.

Sales of small hatchbacks and sedans fell at more than twice the overall market rate in 2019, as buyers continued their migration to higher-riding SUVs. Industry VFACTS data summing up 2019 showed that while the overall market fell 7.8 per cent (to depths not plumbed since 2011), the Small Car segment fell by 18 per cent compared to the previous year.