'Bin the booster', says car seat maker

A CAR CHILD seat manufacturer is urging parents to bin booster seats amid claims of ‘dangers’ involved in using them for older kids. Britax, which manufactures child seats for youngsters up to 135cm tall, or about 12 years old, claims that its own research suggests 49% of seating setups for 4-12-year-olds could be unsafe. Some form of child seat is legally required until a child reaches 135cm in height, to ensure that the seat belt crosses their chest at the correct and safe height, but Britax claims to have found many belts to have been fitted incorrectly.

Vauxhall's new badge

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 09 April 2008 00:00 Vauxhall has redesigned its griffin badge - and the new Insignia is the first car that will bear the new mascot. It's a typically modern rebranding: the graphic designers have zoomed in on the upper torso of the griffin, giving it a sharper, modern look and the word Vauxhall is now incorporated in the badge.The company's grille-wide V front end will be abandoned, the new grille preferring an Opel-style roundel, enlarged and sitting slap bang in the middle of the grille. It's not all change, however.

Nissan Qashqai (2006): first official pictures

By Phil McNamara First Official Pictures 06 September 2006 12:15 The lowdown Meet the Qashqai, the SUV for people who want a car that's funkier than a C-segment hatch but fear a dinner party backlash from getting a traditional boxy SUV. The Qashqai is slightly different, as the weird name – taken from a nomadic Iranian tribe – suggests. It's part-SUV, part-family hatch.