The drive inside a driver comes from passion and success, something Hamilton lacked in 2007 after being piped at the post by Kimi Raikkonen in the final race of the season.

Michael Schumacher has gone on to suggest that if Lewis Hamilton was beaten again this year, even though it his just his second season, his confidence, drive, and desire to win would slowly fade away, alongside his career as a Formula One racing driver.

Hamilton’s title battle this year was just as close, if not closer, compared with the battle just over one year ago with Ferrari driver, Kimi Raikkonen, who eventually took the overall victory in the last race of the season.

This year, it was another Ferrari driver, Felipe Massa, who took Hamilton right to the end.

Hamilton eventually became victorious, after finishing in a respectable fifth place in the Brazilian Grand Prix and being crowned as the 2008 F1 World Champion.

The recently announced V10 powered version of the popular R8 is likely to be no different, with low supply and high demand, and that’s no surprise when you compare it to the price of the likes of Ferraris and Lamborghinis.

The newest version will be slightly different to the norm.

The new Audi R8, which will be arriving at UK ports in the first half of this year, will be lighter than previous models, but not in weight.

All its interior lights, engine department lights, headlights, running lights and indicators will be LEDs (liquid emitting diodes), a specialist style of lighting usually implemented on vehicles of this calibre.

The total number of LEDs running in the Audi R8 will amount to over 100, much more than the average use of LED lighting systems.

Audi has stressed that lighting is an important part of an environmentally friendly car, as lights can use vast amounts of electricity.

The new LED system is likely to be around four times more energy efficient than the previous halogen lighting system used.

The new rumours suggest that the Renault based driver was actually offered a position on the 2009 squad, but turned it down to stay with his current outfit over at the ING Renault camp.

Alonso recently signed a deal with the ING Renault team to extend his contract, which will see him employed for definite until the end of the 2010 season.

On the other hand, suggestions have been made the deal may be postponed until the 2011 season, which is of course when the ING Renault and Alonso contract will run out, leaving Alonso without a F1 team behind him.

When Ferrari were questioned regarding the rumors, they said they are extemely happy with the potential of their two drivers, Massa and Raikkonen, and the rest of the team for the 2009 season, and are not looking for any additional drivers.

Well, reality and dreams for the future were smashed to pieces when Subaru announced their departure from the WRC circuit for the duration of the credit crunch.

The 29 year old driver has been one of the most successful Aussies on the WRC circuit, so it was only natural he would be snapped up by one of the remaining manufacturers on the WRC scene.

That’s where Citroen fit in, as they have decided to try out Atkinson alongside other junior drivers on their WRC outfit, at selected events throughout the championship, essentially throwing him and his career a lifeline.

The Junior M2 team, inclusive of Atkinson, will be bulging with talent including Conrad Rautenbach, 24 years old from Zimbabwe, Frenchman Sebastien Ogier 25, and Evgeny Novikov, currently Russian rally champion, at the age of just 18.

The M2 doesn’t represent the class of car to be used throughout the series, but represents the Junior team throughout their WRC presence.

Don’t be fooled though, as the team will be supported by the same outfit that took Loeb to the title hotspot last year.

Sales of new cars in Spain dropped by around 28 percent compared to 2007 figures, with December showing one of the worst declines of all, dropping nearly 50% to just 72,377 vehicles, compared with the 144,000 just one year earlier.

The sudden drop means that the history books show the worst sales figures within the last decade, with just 1.6 million cars being sold in the whole of 2008.

Ford came out the winners in the whole scenario, being the best sellers for 2008, ahead of French rivals Peugeot and Citroen who were the top sellers in 2007 - quite a turn around in just 12 months!

The decline in the Spanish economy is the first of its kind in over 15 years, with economic output falling 0.2% in the third quarter of 2008.

This has led to the employment levels decreasing and unemployment increasing to 11.3%, one of the highest in Europe.

Just like the US government and General Motors situation over in America, the Spanish Government has decided that the Auto Industry needs a 800 million euros to stabilize itself.

Within the last few days General Motors has finally established a deal with the US Government for huge loans to keep them afloat through the recession period.

General Motors and Cadillac are hoping that new launches and their latest concepts will be their ammunition to keep them afloat for the next 12-24 months.

The latest concept out of the Cadillac camp is the SRX Crossover, which offers a range of both design and performance features, more than any normal Crossover we have seen in the past.

The new SRX will replace the original SRX that Cadillac released back in 2004.

General Motors have announced that there will be more news to come, and both General Motors and Cadillac will be present at the prestigious Detroit Motor Show, which commences January 11th.

In the past, the Cadillac SRX had a small, exclusive market, and was not a threat to any comparable brands.

If General Motors and Cadillac are to survive, the new SRX needs to go head to head with rivals such as Lexus with their RX, and BMW with their X3.

If any company has managed to do that successfully it has to be Aston Martin, who has come joint first, with Capoco Design and Foster & Partners, in a competition to win the contract for the Boris Johnson 21st century Routemaster bus for London, which will be a zero emission based project.

Features include open access from the back in true London style, while the interior will provide the luxury of leather upholstery and wooden flooring.

On the downside, several transport ministers have expressed concern that the bus and its design may not be a worthwhile use of public money, especially in times of a financial crisis when the government is already in too deep as far as borrowing money is concerned.

The competition was trying prove that a zero emission form of public transport could be achieved and hoped to set an example for drivers nationwide.

Then imagine the surprise on their faces when they were told that something they thought had only sentimental value, actually had a value of up to £6 million depending on the interest at auction rooms.

A Bugatti Supercar, a Type 57S Atalante to be precise, was let to rot for over half a century by its owner, Harold Carr, a doctor from Newcastle.

The vehicle was one of just 17 ever produced.

The Type 57S Atalante was special mainly because it was the supercar of history, reaching quite a tidy 130 mph in its day when, in comparison, most cars would only hit 50mph at a push.

Auctioneers have said that the vehicle has such a high value, mainly due to the fact it hasn’t been used for so long.

The true value will be revealed next month, when the Bugatti Supercar, Type 57S Atalante, will eventually go under the hammer.

Auctioneers are expecting the end bid to be above £3 million and it could be as much as £6 million due to the car’s excellent condition and rarity.

They were completely wrong of course, as the power from this ‘beast’ is like nothing else available to date.

The twin-turbo Ultimate Aero, in 2009 form, will produce over 100bhp more than the old version, offering 1287bhp, which is enough to fly a small passenger aircraft, and represents around an 8% gain compared with the old 1183bhp machine.

It is only natural that an engine of this caliber will produce extremely impressive speed figures, such as a stupidly fast top speed of 270mph.

According to Shelby, the main reason for the sudden increase in power is the incorporation of a technologically advanced 1-piece billet aluminium engine block, which ultimately improves the strength of the engine overall, increasing performance.

This has allowed engineers to test higher pressure turbo boosts, resulting in the increased power gains.

That being said, you can’t stick a 1287bhp engine into a Shelby and expect in not to overheat, hence Shelby have incorporated a 20% more effective cooling system, compared with the 2008 model.

This led to the trading in of gas guzzling cars, eco-friendly driving, fitting LPG or fuel saving systems or even the purchasing of a Hybrid vehicle.

Today, that scenario is completely in reverse, and prices have come down as quickly as they went up in the middle of 2008, and are now averaging around 87p per litre for petrol and around 99p per litre for diesel.

This means that it is only natural that sales of LPG systems and Hybrid vehicles alike are drastically decreasing, in line with the price of fuel.

In November 2008, reports suggested that the decrease was around 50%, compared with the same period in 2007.

The current overstock of crude oil is leading to a huge irregularity within the supply/demand balance, which usually keeps the price rising at a steady pace.

The steady increase is not a factor anymore, but drivers should expect measures to come in place for it to rise over the next 12-18 months.