2005 Audi A4 Mufflers on 2040-parts.com

Puzzling Parking Signs 'Confuse' Motorists

A NEW survey has revealed that parking signs confuse motorists, to the point that it can lead to drivers being penalised for their unintended transgressions. The poll, conducted by car insurance company Churchill, found that of those fined, clamped or who had their vehicle towed away in the last two years, 22% said they were unable to understand the parking restrictions in that area. Also, 41% of the 2,001 people polled said parking signs in their area were confusing, while 33% avoided parking in their local town or city centre for this very reason In addition, the puzzling signs led to 9% avoiding parking around their own residential area.

News watch November 2010: today's auto industry news

Welcome to CAR Magazine's news aggregator as we round up the daily stories in the auto industry. Top tip: news summaries are added from the top hour-by-hour Tuesday 30 November 2010• Fiat and Opel have signed an agreement whereby Fiat will supply vehicles comprising of several variants to Opel, commencing December 1 (Fiat)• Electric cars will make up 20 per cent of UK car sales by 2016, according to National Grid CEO Steve Holiday (Automotive News Europe)• Toyota has said it will repair 650,000 Prius models worldwide because of a fault with the coolant pump (BBC News)• Porsche look likely to succeed in persuading preferred shareholders to support a €5 billion stock sale becuase the deal may offer the chance to buy into Volkswagen at a discount rate (Bloomburg)• China will become Rolls Royce's biggest market, surpassing America as early as 2011 (Automotive News Europe)  Monday 29 November 2010• Bentley has appointd a new CEO to succeed Franz-Josef Paefgen, who's retiring. Porsche R&D director Wolfgang Dürheimer, 52, is now chairman and chief exec of Bentley Motors and Bugatti (Bentley)• In return, Porsche has replaced Dürheimer with Wolfgang Hatz, an internal appointment.

NHTSA safety consultant dies at 64

Miami trauma surgeon and preeminent car-crash researcher Jeffrey Augenstein would often tell the story of the time he was talking to a crash victim who collapsed and died from hidden injuries in the middle of the conversation. The experience led Augenstein to research and then call attention to the unexpected injuries that could occur when drivers interacted with airbags. It's but one example of the achievements of Augenstein, who died recently at age 64.