Acdelco 19211692 Front Brake Shield on 2040-parts.com

Best new car sales in six years

RECORD new car sales achieved a six-year high in 2013, the motor industry has announced. A total of 2,264,737 new cars were registered in 2013 - a 10.8% rise on the 2012 figure and the best annual total since the pre-recession year of 2007, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said. The 2013 total was boosted by a 23.76% rise, to nearly 153,000, in sales in December - the 22nd successive month of increases.

Into the Breach: The future of in-car infotainment

In-car infotainment is broken. The best that can be said of the finest systems on the market is that they generally do what one asks of them and don't induce fits of rage. At their worst, they're actively dangerous, spiking the driver's blood pressure, forcing tentative or aggressive behavior at intersections and interchanges—and generally taking the driver outside the flow of traffic.

Coventry Industrial Design students launch projects blog

The official blog for the 2013 Coventry University Industrial Design Degree Show has launched. Featuring project updates and imagery from this year's Industrial Design undergraduates, it allows Bachelor's students to promote their work ahead of the 2013 Degree Show and lets viewers follow the progress of their final projects and college work in real-time. A monthly archive also means viewers can look back over past submissions.