21 2021 Kia Telluride Steering Column on 2040-parts.com

Better Place EV Battery Swap business goes bust

It seemed like a good idea: take the cost of batteries out of the cost of buying an electric car and instead charge EV owners to use ‘Battery Swap’ stations where depleted batteries could be swapped for fully charged ones in the time it takes to fill an ICE car with petrol. But it’s all gone a bit Pete Tong. Better Place – which partnered with Renault in 2009 to make the battery swap technology viable – has failed to find anyone to add to the $750 million already involved in the project and has filed for bankruptcy.

Ford to introduce inflatable seatbelts

When the 2011 Ford Explorer hits showrooms, its move to a unibody platform won't be the only major change. Ford will use the next-generation Explorer to introduce inflatable seatbelts for rear passengers. According to Ford, the inflatable seatbelt will help distribute crash forces across five times more body area, compared with traditional seatbelts.

10 things you might not know about Google’s driverless car

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 29 May 2014 09:27 Google made a major announcement this week when it confirmed its plans to build its own autonomous car. Co-founder Sergey Brin revealed the project at a conference in California on Wednesday. It might look like an extra from the set of Cars the movie, but you’d better believe it: Google wants to launch a driverless car very much like what you see here.