2003 Ford Crown Victoria Speedometer Instrument Cluster Gauges 2594085 on 2040-parts.com

'Crash for cash' scams soar by 51%

THE NUMBER of "crash for cash" car insurance scams uncovered by a major insurer surged by 51% annually last year. Aviva said it had detected around 820 staged accidents in 2013, leading to some 2,200 fraudulent personal injury claims. It is pressing for tougher penalties and said that often, rather than being locked up, fraudsters end up being sentenced to community orders, which "do little" to deter them from re-offending.

Boxmark's R&D center sets the trend

Established 1995Services Processing of upholstery leather, cutting & sewing shop, Research and Development CenterHeadquarters Kidricevo, SloveniaTelephone +386 2 7991 600Email si.office@boxmark.comWebsite boxmark.com At Boxmark in Slovenia, visions converge with innovation to form customized product solutions. The R&D center develops trend-setting leather interiors and exteriors, in addition to offering serial production. "It is our passion to bring out the best qualities and characteristics within each piece of leather and to convert them into extraordinary quality," says managing director Marjan Trobis.

Ford improves simulators to help driver safety

Today's cars are loaded to the hilt with technology. Given modern vehicles' built-in opportunities for driver distraction, not to mention society's penchant for mobile-device use while motoring, it's a wonder we get home safely at all. To that end, Ford has upgraded its Virttex virtual-reality machine to study driver performance in the pursuit of safety devices and driver-aid development.