1984 Honda Cr250 Cr 250 Pipe on 2040-parts.com

Will your next new car stop itself?

Last week in Park City, Utah, a group of us were discussing the chutzpah that some manufacturers have in charging hundreds of dollars for outboard mirrors that dip downward when the vehicle's placed in reverse. The consensus was, “Since the electric motors in the mirrors are already there, and the computers know the car's set to back up, it's only a line of code. A very expensive line of code.” The European Union seems to be thinking along the same lines.

Film Friday: 'Head On' pits a 1938 Chevy against a mighty locomotive

The train is, in many ways, the enemy of the automobile. We're not even getting philosophical about personal transportation versus mass transit or diving into disputes over whether to fund interstates or railways: Trains are simply bigger and heavier than even the bulkiest of cars, and they're quite happy to turn any vehicle that happens to be parked on their tracks into scrap-metal pancakes without slowing down. It's physics, people.

Crazy self-driving Rinspeed XchangE concept for Geneva 2014 debut

You can rely upon Swiss concept specialists Rinspeed to release something suitably crazy on the run up to their home Geneva Motor Show – and 2014 is no different, it appears. This is the Rinspeed XchangE, a self-driving autonomous car that shows "what will move us tomorrow," according to the firm; it’s "the office and living room on wheels." Natch. Please click on the image above to read more about the 2014 Rinspeed XchangE concept