2003-2005 Pontiac Sunfire 15” Chrome Wheel Cover Hub Cap 5131 P/n 9594664 on 2040-parts.com

Volvo is working on cordless charging for electric cars

Imagine not having to actually exit and plug in your electric car (assuming you have an electric car to plug in), and instead just parking it over a special parking spot. That's the promise of a new technology that Volvo is working on, and if taken to the mass market once made commercially viable, it means electric cars will be able to recharge just by sitting over a charger built into the parking spot's surface. That would certainly eliminate the need for those bulky upright chargers that are spreading around the country.

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.

Mercedes AMG Vision Gran Turismo brought to life by Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes AMG Vision Gran Turismo brought to life by Mercedes-Benz The new Gran Turismo 6 is a big deal (out on 6th December) and Mercedes-Benz are making sure they’re able to grab a bit of the glory by building a full scale concept of the Mercedes AMG Vision Gran Turismo Supercar. The Vision Gran Turismo car has been created by Mercedes design team without the constraints of the real world, so we get a Mercedes supercar that goes a little beyond practical realities. There’s a great big statement grill that looks like an evolution of a 1950s Mercedes racer, a long bonnet, a compact cabin area and a back end with a tapered roof construct and huge bulging arches.