1959 Ford Galaxie Complete Dash on 2040-parts.com

Alarming number of drivers lack road sign knowledge

A THIRD OF DRIVERS in the UK do not know even the most basic road signs such as the National Speed Limit and Slippery Road warnings. This is the finding of a survey by More Than, which found that 34% of drivers in the UK did not know what the National Speed Limit sign was. The Slippery Road sign was misunderstood by one in seven drivers as meaning ‘paint on the road.’ With research conducted alongside 29 police forces, the survey found 20% of UK drivers had received penalty points for speeding in the past 10 years.

Jaguar hybrid cars due in 2013-14

Jaguar will launch its own hybrid vehicles soon after Land Rover, CAR can confirm. Parent company Jaguar Land Rover is developing battery-assisted hybrid versions for both brands but its strategy puts part-electric Land Rovers first on the launchpad in 2013.Hybrid Jaguars – set to include the XJ and XF, but eventually every model – are therefore likely to be on the market by 2013-2014, using a similar eight-speed ZF hybrid transmission to petrol-electric BMWs.The staggered roll-out of battery Jags and Land Rovers makes sense: heavy 4x4s have come in the firing line from green protestors who label them Chelsea Tractors. Hybrid Land Rovers will trim emissions and – in plug-in hybrid mode – enable even big bulky Range Rovers to drive in zero-emissions mode into central urban areas emitting nothing more unsaintly than an electric whir.So which Jaguars will go hybrid first?It's likely that the largest models such as the XJ will receive the hybrid power packs first; large cars reap the greater benefit and can more easily swallow the additional cost, put at around £10,000 in today's money.JLR's Midlands engineering bases in Whitley and Gaydon now employ 100 engineers in the expanding hybrid powertrain business unit launched 18 months ago.

Nissan Ellure concept

The Ellure is one of the most significant new car concepts to be unveiled at this year's LA auto show. A D-segment-sized sedan, the project has seen input from both Nissan's studios in Japan and NDA, where the concept was completed. According to NDA design chief Alfonso Albaisa, the concept explores a new global design language Nissan is working towards for its range of sedans.