1962-63 Mercury Meteor Original Vintage Glove Compartment Lock on 2040-parts.com

Threat to rural road maintenance

TOTAL ROAD CLOSURES may be necessary as the extreme winter weather has left councils struggling to maintain routes, according to a local government chief. One council - Cornwall - said it was being "starved of resources" and was considering stopping maintenance of rural roads. But the Department for Transport said billions of pounds were being provided for local highways maintenance and it was the responsibility of authorities to cope with severe weather.

Natural-gas-powered Honda Civic can stay in California carpool lane

Honda Civic GX drivers in California are smiling this week as they continue to have access to the high-occupancy-vehicle lane, even with just one person in the car. Even though one-occupant hybrid cars have lost access to the carpool lane, natural-gas-powered vehicles get to use it for another four years. Beginning on July 1, yellow-stickered partial hybrids were banned from HOV areas on the highways unless they carried the mandated number of people.

Pocketsquare to premiere Panasonic's driver-focussed HMI interior concept at NAIAS

Erstwhile GM interior design chief David Lyon, alongside former GM engineer Nina Mital and ex-Ford designer Gary Braddock – the three members of new Michigan-based design consultancy Pocketsquare – will have the first fruits of their new venture displayed at the NAIAS in Detroit in the form of Panasonic's advanced interior design concept. The interior makes use of Panasonic's new range of head-up displays and smart clusters to reduce driver distraction in advance of the latest proposed NHTSA legislation. The system is said to exceed these measures by as much as 35 per cent.