Auto-safety history gets its place in the Smithsonian

Smithsonian museum officials say their new collection of auto-safety objects dating to the 1930s is about America's love affair with its cars. But really it's about our passion for, well, staying alive. While some enthusiasts might question whether their cars should be braking for them, it's hard to quarrel with most of this technology.

Smart Forfour (2015): first official photos

By James Clark First Official Pictures 16 July 2014 19:30 The Smart ForFour is back - and this time it's twinned with the new, rear-engined Smart ForTwo rather than a bitsa Mitsubishi. The second-generation Smart ForFour was unveiled at an event in Berlin tonight, and marks the return of Daimler to the affordable family hatchback segment. With weak sales and an indistinct DNA, the first Smart ForFour was a sales flop and lasted only a couple of years.

Tomorrow's world: lightweight carbon composites

Once all the dust settles on The Great Battery Farce (the idea that the world's ills will be taken care of by sticking a battery in everything that moves and charging it up) we may eventually face up to the fact that the best way to move something around more economically, is to move less of it. That means making things lighter, a lot lighter. Car makers are working on it and manufacturers like Audi and Jaguar have already become masters in bringing aluminium to the mass production.