Ford prototype seat measures your heart rate

Ford continues its foray into health and wellness with a car that can monitor the driver's heart activity. Research engineers in Germany have developed a prototype seat with six sensors that can monitor the heart's electric impulses through clothes and give an early warning as to whether a driver should seek medical attention because of irregularities. Drivers who have cardiovascular disease are 23 percent more likely to be involved in a car accident.

VW to buy Italdesign Giugiaro, sources say

Volkswagen AG will buy a controlling stake in Italy's largest design and engineering firm, Italdesign Giugiaro S.p.A., two industry sources confirmed to Automotive News Europe. One of the sources said that an announcement could come as early as next week. Italdesign and VW representatives declined to comment.

New car sales in UK still growing – up 14.8% April 2013. Driven by PPI Claims?

It is quite hard to fathom just how UK new car sales (well, registrations) continue to rise inexorably against a backdrop of otherwise stagnant economic activity, but they do. April 2013 has seen a total of 163,357 new car registrations, up a huge 14.8 per cent on April 2012 and the best figure since 2008, and these sales figures are not being driven by fleet buyers but by private motorists – private sector registrations grew by 32.3 per cent in April and are up by 15.2 per cent year to date. Not surprisingly, it’s the Superminis that are performing strongly – although all sectors are showing a rise – and it’s the Ford Fiesta that continues to be the best seller in the UK with sales of over 8,000 in April and over 42,000 so far in 2013, and the rise of superminis has also seen an increase in sales of petrol-engined cars thanks to the wave of small capacity, frugal petrol options.