Declan Colley test drives the new Mazda2 model, but finds it falls short in the highly competitive supermini segment

Declan Colley finds plenty of reasons why those who have long favoured the Opel Corsa will like its latest edition

Europe emerged as a bright spot for the embattled global car industry after car sales jumped to a record in December, but it could be short-lived.

A magnificent silver trophy in honour of the late Maurice Nagle awaits the winners of tomorrow’s Rentokil-Initial Killarney Historic Rally that has attracted a superb entry.

The vehicle, which has been confirmed as an Opel Zafira, was removed from the first floor of the Douglas Shopping Centre car park earlier this week using a remotely-operated towing device.

Here is a selection of eight people who have recently begun interesting new roles with companies based in Ireland.

It seems incongruous in a business where pushing technological and engineering boundaries are a commonplace taken-for-granted thing, that certain cars can maintain their position at the head of the sales charts not so much for years, but for decades, without really being challenged even by a determined opposition.

A man seriously injured in a shooting in Dublin is in a stable condition in hospital.

Gardaí are investigating if the latest gangland shooting in west Dublin is connected with a gun murder in the area last March. The victim, aged 42, was shot up to seven times as he sat in his car on Griffeen Glen Park, Lucan, a short distance from his home, just before 2pm.

Operating profits at one of the largest car dealerships in the country, Johnson & Perrott, increased 11.5% to over €4.6m last year.

Opel Ireland says it is liaising with gardaí in Cork who are still investigating the devastating multi-storey carpark inferno in Douglas at the weekend.

The car company said it has offered the investigation team every assistance required as the probe focuses on whether an Opel Zafira was the cause of the intense fire at the Douglas Village shopping centre carpark on Saturday night.

Fire officers described the damage to Douglas Village Shopping Centre as “a major structural failure” as plans for partial demolition were announced.

A couple whose house on a narrow street in Youghal was extensively damaged two years ago by a crashed car have narrowly escaped a repeat incident.

A compact SUV manufactured by Skoda had the highest pass rate of any vehicle submitted for a NCT test last year.

The owner of Vauxhall has warned that the car giant will cease production at its Ellesmere Port factory if Brexit makes it unprofitable.

DS7 Crossback trades on its heritage and lives up to the expectations on many levels. but there are downsides. The ride is not the magic carpet experience we once loved and expected to see again, writes Declan Colley

China has increased its ownership of German car group Daimler by investing a further $2.8bn (€2.5bn) in the Mercedes-Benz maker.

French car maker Renault posted a decline of almost 7% in first-half vehicle sales amid a global car slowdown but said a forthcoming product offensive would begin to help soften the blow in key markets.

A former salesman has been spared jail for selling a “perfectly fine car” which turned out to have been an insurance write-off after it was severely damaged in a crash.

Hey. I’m rich but sound, which is why I bought a 2009 Opel for driving up to my tennis-outreach programme in Churchfield, because arriving up in my Merc SLK would be shouting “You people are beneath me”

Since January, 73,781 new private cars have been sold in Ireland, a decrease of 7% on the same time last year.

Volkswagen will let lapse 4,000 general and administrative jobs, while adding 2,000 IT positions over the next four years, avoiding layoffs at its German factories, as it negotiates a major shift toward electrification and self-driving cars.

A 22-year-old man who brandished a machete at a garda pursuing him and his uncle from a shop they had just robbed has been sentenced to six years in prison with the final two suspended.

A 22-year-old man brandished a machete at a garda pursuing him and his uncle from a shop they had just robbed, a court has heard.

Peugeot maker PSA Group reported a 1.1% decline in first-quarter revenue, as a sales decline outside Europe and currency challenges outweighed pricing improvements.

Two men have been jailed in connection with the "execution" of Aidan "The Beast" O'Driscoll, who was killed on a busy Cork street in a "well-planned" hit as part of an internal dispute between the Real IRA and the New IRA.

Vans and small trucks are a bellwether of economic activity, and sales of them have fallen 13.4%, says Brian Byrne.

Two masked men, armed with pipe-like instruments, threatened security officers and stole a cash box.

“Whatever it was, I wish we could have bottled it,” Liam Fennelly says.

Aidan 'The Beast' O'Driscoll was "executed" on a busy Cork street in a "well-planned" hit that was part of an internal dispute between the Real IRA and the New IRA, the Special Criminal Court has heard.

Chevrolet, Alfa Romeo, Renault, and Fiat performed badly

A rallying year which began with uncertainty ends in style tomorrow with a capacity entry list for the Rentokil-Initial Killarney Historic Rally.

THE first phase of a significant €15million motor trade investment on Cork city’s Bandon Road opens next week, indicative of the recovery in the Irish economy, the motor trade and a forerunner of other developments to follow on Cork’s western fringes.

I’m not a ‘kick ’em while they’re down’ sort of guy, but in the case of Opel over the last five years or so, it has been very hard not to be that person, given the alarming fall from grace we have witnessed at the once great company.

It starts officially tomorrow although celebrations have been underway for a little while. The 30th anniversary of Ireland’s Euro 88 adventure. Specifically, tomorrow marks 30 years since Ray Houghton’s goal.

A man had a miraculous escape after his car was impaled with a large rod in a horrific two-car collision, in Co Limerick. Wednesday.

A young man killed in Co Donegal on Saturday night was walking home after celebrating the christening of his baby son.

Coach House on the Cork/Limerick border is a historic home that harks to times past, writes Tommy Barker.

Gardaí in Dublin investigating a stolen car incident have issued a photo of the car in an appeal for information.

There’s not much you could begrudge Colm Cooper. Not much at all. He is a man who transcended the game he mastered. The reasonable fortune he has accrued from the fame has been most deserving. A lot of what he will accrue in the future on the back of his name will be just as merited, writes John Fogarty.