Dodge 98 99 Durango Heat/ac Temperature Control 1998 on 2040-parts.com

New 2013 Nissan LEAF goes the ‘Battery Lease’ route UPDATED

Even though you will be paying the same rate as you did in the first year, you’ll have to make do with the old batteries unless they fall below the 9 bar level, when Nissan will replace them under warranty. There is no doubt that Nissan are still convinced the future is the electric car, and the LEAF – the world’s best-selling electric car – is the future of motoring. And the LEAF is a convincing car if all you want is a well-built family car to transport you round your local area, even if it will cost an arm and a leg to buy in comparison to an ICE car.

Think you can talk and drive? Not so much…

It has been well documented that texting while driving is a risky practice that results in thousands of motor-vehicle deaths each year. But talking rather than texting isn't really a better alternative, according to experts at the National Safety Council. The council is hoping to better explain why driving and talking on a cell phone is so dangerous by examining how the brain works when faced with multiple cognitive tasks.

Mini Beachcomber Concept at Detroit motor show 2010

This funky beach-biased concept car has just appeared at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show in January. Called the Mini Beachcomber Concept, this flight-of-fancy Moke-inspired show car gives us our first glimpse of how Mini's production-spec 4x4 crossover will look at launch - we'll see the real car at the Geneva motor show in March 2010 ahead of an autumn UK launch. This four-seater, four-wheel-drive machine has been designed without doors or a conventional roof, so that its occupants are not cut off from the outside world.