2002-2005 Thunderbird Emblem on 2040-parts.com

2014 Toyota Corolla loses Furia's flair, but theme remains

The all-new 2014 Toyota Corolla debuted last week with a fresh look, confirming that the Furia concept Toyota brought to the Detroit auto show was more than just an exercise in styling. The Furia concept's sporty and flashy design intrigued us, and while the 2014 Corolla is an upgrade from the bland Corollas of the past, it also glosses over most of the flair of the Furia. So, what hints did Toyota reveal with the Furia concept, and what got cut on the design-room floor?

McLaren plan to make windscreen wipers obsolete

McLaren plan to make windscreen wipers obsolete Much of the ‘clunkiness’ in cars – stuff like wind-up windows and a cranking handle – have been made obsolete in cars as technology arrived to make things work better, but one thing that remains on modern cars from the dawn of the motoring age is the windscreen wiper. Invented by Mary Anderson in 1903 after she realised drivers of the first motor cars were having to lean out of the window in rainy conditions to see where they were going, it became a standard fitting on all cars within a few years. Windscreen wipers have certainly improved over the years as technology has developed, but they’re still basically a strip of rubber moving across the windscreen to clear rain.

New Ford Mustang for Europe gets 500 orders in first 30 seconds

The new Ford Mustang (pictured) was much in demand. The new Ford Mustang effectively went on sale in Europe at the UEFA Champions League final at the weekend, and it was an overwhelming success for Ford. Not only did Ford get the first 500 registrations – enough for the entire initial European offering – in the first 30 seconds,  it ended up with a total of 9,300 registrations during the match, and Ford say the lucky 500 ‘winners’ – 130 of them in the UK – will be notified in the next few weeks if they’re getting a new Mustang.