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UK car output falls 14% in March, may get worse with no-deal Brexit

LONDON — British car output fell for the 10th month in a row in March, hit by a slowdown in key foreign markets, and the sector stands to suffer a lot more if the country leaves the European Union without a deal, an industry body said on Tuesday. Output tumbled by an annual 14.4 percent to 126,195 cars in March, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said. Exports, which account for nearly four out of every five cars made in Britain, were down by 13.4 percent. The SMMT said analysis it had commissioned predicted output would fall this year to 1.36 million units from 1.52 million in 2018, assuming London can secure a transition deal with the EU. If Britain has to rely instead on World Trade Organization rules for its trade with the bloc, which include import tariffs, output is forecast to fall by around 30 percent to 1.07 million units in 2021, returning to mid-1980s levels, the SMMT said. The forecasts were produced for SMMT by AutoAnalysis, a consultancy. Prime Minister Theresa May has secured a delay to the Brexit deadline until Oct. 31, giving her more time to try to break an impasse in parliament over the terms of Britain's departure from the EU. Foreign minister Jeremy Hunt traveled to Japan earlier this month to try to persuade the Japanese government and Toyota, which has a big presence in Britain, that London was determined to avoid a no-deal Brexit. "Just a few years ago, industry was on track to produce 2 million cars by 2020 — a target now impossible with Britain's reputation as stable and attractive business environment undermined," SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said. "All parties must find a compromise urgently so we can set about repairing the damage and diverting energy and investment to the technological challenges that will define the future of the global industry." (Reporting by William Schomberg, editing by David Milliken)

Jaguar's electric speedboat smashes decade-old record

We knew Jaguars prowl on dry land, but apparently they dabble with water, too. Jaguar teamed up with powerboat racing specialist Vector and Williams Advanced Engineering to beat the existing British and world records for fastest battery-powered boat with some expertise from Jaguar's Formula E team. The team had to top 76.8 mph, a record set in 2008 by Helen Loney in her Firefly electric hydroplane with Agni motors. The attempt was made in the same location, Coniston Water in the English Lake District, where speedboat record runs have been made since the days of Sir Malcolm Campbell as early as the 1930s, and son Sir Donald Campbell into the 1950s and 1960s – including the fateful record attempt that cost the younger Campbell his life in 1967. The company's documented the attempt in the video shown above. It reveals that the 2008 record wasn't easy to beat. At first, pilot and Jaguar Vector co-founder Peter Dredge managed to get the boat to 76.6 mph – annoyingly close to, and just under, the record. But a later run rewarded the team's efforts, with a clear improvement of nearly 12 mph, making the new record 88.61 miles per hour. This achievement is also impressive considering that Jaguar and Vector only announced their partnership in October 2017, so progress has been swift. The tech in the boat is reportedly derived from Formula E technology, though Jaguar Vector and Williams Advanced Engineering have not disclosed the boat's exact specifications nor what parts are based on Jaguar Formula E car parts. Related Video: Green Jaguar Electric Racing Vehicles Videos williams advanced engineering

Top torque-to-weight ratios under $100k, $50k and $25k

Horsepower may steal a lot of headlines, but the always-more-complex torque figure is often a critical one for both the workingman and the motoring playboy. The measure of rotational force represents the twist that can liquefy one's tires or haul one's horse trailer. Good stuff.
It follows then, that as with the horsepower-to-weight list that we assembled for you a few months ago, a list of cars that offer the most pound-feet with the fewest pounds to carry, is an interesting one to break down. Sure, there's a big difference in how the torque is applied from a turbocharged six-cylinder in a Swedish luxury sedan and a massive heavy-duty truck's turbo-diesel. But being the car/stat geeks that we are, we think it's kinda neat that those two vehicles rank near each other where torque and weight intersect.
As with the horsepower list, we've given you figures as pounds per every one pound-foot. Again broken down into broad price categories, we've got a mixed bag of 2014 and 2015 models here, too. Every effort has been made to select the most up-to-date prices and specs, and we've also to omitted some '14 cars that won't be re-upped after the ongoing yearly changeover.