1964 Thunderbird Hood Scoop And Grille on 2040-parts.com

All used up: Pre-owned sales rise as consumers seek new-car alternatives

Used-car sales took a leap upward in April, and the trend is expected to continue at least until midyear as pent-up demand for affordable pre-owned vehicles jacks up at least one segment of the car marketplace. Sales of new cars continued an unabated slide toward what analysts say is a 30-year low in the United States, but used-car sales showed strength as buyers unable to finance new cars shifted their sights to less expensive used models. As a result, retailers such as the large Penske Automotive Group reported that despite an overall decline in sales in the first three months of 2009, improving used-car sales kept them in the black.

AT&T Labs and Carnegie Mellon develop GPS-enabled haptic steering wheel

AT&T Labs and Carnegie Mellon University have developed a new GPS-enabled steering wheel prototype that incporporates haptic technology. For those who need a quick refresher, haptic technology is a feedback system that uses vibrations to provide alerts, for example vibrating mobile 'phones or your games console controller. Here the tech is used to alert drivers when navigation maneuvers are approaching, with the steering wheel syncing with GPS-enabled computer systems.

VW at Geneva Motor Show: 2010 VW Sharan

Volkaswagen has revealed the 2010 VW Sharan at the Geneva Motor Show Last week we reported on VW’s little German tease of the 2010 Sharan on the VW web site in Germany, coyly showing just a partial front end and one wheel. But a week on there’s no such reticence with a full reveal of VW’s big people carrier at Geneva. The last generation of the Sharan shared a platform with Ford’s Galaxy, but the 2010 Volkswagen Sharan is a purely VW venture -based as it is on VW’s flexible MQB platform – and comes complete with the standard fashion accessory for a people carrier of sliding rear doors, and a more flexible seven-seat layout.