Attwood Marine Fuel Demand Valve, No Siphon Protection on 2040-parts.com

Vauxhall Cascada: Price from £23,995

The Vauxhall Cascada – Vauxhall’s new four-seat convertible – will cost from £23,995 and arrives in Vauxhall showrooms in April 2013. Starting at £23,995 for the Cascada SE with the 1.4 litre petrol and rising to £29,115 for the Cascada Elite with a 2.0 litre diesel and auto ‘box, the Cascada certainly offers a lot of full-size convertible for the money. There are just two trim levels available – Cascada SE and Cascada Elite – with the SE coming with 18″ alloys, LED tail lights, DAB, rear parking sensors and USB, The Elite adds in stuff like leather, heated seats, Climate and steering wheel and fog lights.

MIT develops self-transforming materials that behave 'like robots without robots'

A cross-disciplinary research lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed a suite of programmable materials, including carbon fiber, printed wood grain, textile composites, rubbers and plastics, that self-transform when exposed to an external stimulus. Director of the Self-Assembly Lab, Skylar Tibbits, presented a TED talk on 4D printing in 2013, where he demonstrated how a flat sheet of material could effectively build itself when exposed to water, like a robot without a robot. Following positive feedback from industries including aviation, automotive and manufacturing, his lab has been working on developing materials that change according to different activation sources, including heat, light, and air pressure, in addition to water – all of which have automotive relevance.

Chinese-made Coda electric sedan looks to plug in to U.S. market

There's some competition for the Tesla Model S. Santa Monica, Calif.-based Coda Automotive unveiled its first electric car on Wednesday, and it's no golf cart. The Chinese-made, four-door, five-seat sedan has everything from Bluetooth and navigation to an iPod dock and a finished interior.