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Porsche announces new Weissach design center and wind tunnel

Porsche is to invest around €150m into its Weissach development facility, including a new design center. The plans also include an electronics integration department and a state-of-the art, on-site wind tunnel, which is hoped will allow the company to realize an holistic approach to efficient design, with a strong focus on aerodynamics. When we spoke with head of Porsche design, Michael Mauer, at this year's Paris motor show, he also alluded to the fact that the Volkswagen Group's – and, more specifically, Walter de'Silva's – recent influence on the German manufacturer was shifting its attitudes: "The Volkswagen Group has a very good understanding of how much freedom a brand needs to keep its characteristics and with [Walter] as 'conductor', I feel a lot of support with design issues within the company," explained Mauer.

Children more distracting than cell phones, study finds

Parents of small children will not be surprised by findings released recently by Australian researchers stating children pose a greater distraction to drivers than talking on cell phones -- a 12 percent greater distraction, to be exact. With all the screaming and crying infants bring to the commute and the fighting and other factors older siblings contribute, we wonder why nobody has pointed a finger at our precious angels sooner. Perhaps because there is little we can do to control when or where our kids decide to dissolve into fits of rage or sorrow.

MINI Roadster Concept revealed

MINI has revealed the MINI Roadster Concept at Frankfurt Just like the MINI Coupe. the MINI Roadster gets a chopped – but open in this case – top with a tilted back windscreen, although from the waist down the Roadster is pure MINI. But the Roadster is promising better handling with the roll over bar shifted forward to just beahind the front seats (there are no back seats) which should make the Roadster more rigid.