2000 Ford F150 Pickup Automatic Transmission 4x4 2603354 on 2040-parts.com

Aston Martins voted 'best status symbol'

AN ASTON Martin is the car to be seen driving if you want people to believe you've 'made it', according to an offbeat new study. Research carried out by Auto Trader among 1,024 drivers showed that the British brand's cars are, perhaps unsurprisingly, the ones that most Brits think highest of, beating the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini and Bentley down the order. In fact, the top three positions in the survey were filled by British car makers, with Bentley and Rolls Royce second and third respectively.

Citroen DS3 DStyle Red & DSport Red special editions

Citroen has launched a pair of special edition DS3s – the DS3 DStyle Red & DSport Red – to give New Year sales a bit of a fillip. Price from £15,655. The Citroen DS3 Red Edition comes in two flavours - DS3 DStyle Red and DS3 DSport Red – based on the existing DS3 DSport and DS3 DStyle with the requisite added goodies and stand-out paint job – either Polar white or Nera Black (with Perla Nera Black pearlescent a £480 option)  – with an exclusive ‘Red Touch’ interior and exterior pack which includes red roof and door mirrors, red grill, red dashboard and red door handles.

Accident prevention features to affect vehicle safety ratings?

To score high on the government's five-star safety program, car companies may soon need to do more than just protect passengers during a crash. They might need to keep their customers out of accidents, too. That would be a boon to suppliers selling such equipment as radar and video cameras that watch the road ahead.