Belvedere Fury Convertible 1956 1957 1958 1959 361 Plymouth: Dealer Poster Print on 2040-parts.com

Creature comforts now top car-shoppers' 'must-haves'

New technologies come with a learning curve, but once we tackle the initial challenge it's amazing how quickly new features become “must-haves.” From cars that unlock as we approach to those that keep themselves between the lines and a safe distance from what's ahead, we have already become accustomed to high-tech driving. So which features would most drivers refuse to live without? Surprisingly, it's the simplest creature comforts most people hold dear—at least for now.

Vauxhall Insignia facelift revealed for 2014

The Vauxhall Insignia gets a facelift for 2014 with new engines and lower prices The Vauxhall Insignia is a more than decent car – and a big improvement on the Vectra that went before – but it’s now almost five years old so it’s time for a bit of a facelift. Vauxhall has revealed the updated Insignia for 2014 that gets a decent raft of changes, both cosmetically and under the skin, to make it better to live with and more economical. Sensibly, Vauxhall has cut the bewildering range of Insignia trim levels from 14 to eight (do they need even that many?), with Design Trim at the bottom and Elite trim at the top, and the new Insignia Design starting at £16,279 – £3500 less than the old Insignia ES.

European car sales down 9.6% Jan 2013. VW Golf sales down 17.8%

Car sales in Europe continue to decline with sales down 9.6% in January 2013 and the top-selling VW Golf down by 17.8%. In fact, the UK was the only top five market to increase sales, with Germany down 8.6 per cent, France down 15.1 per cent, Italy down 17.6 per cent and Spain 9.2 per cent. Other notable drops included the Netherlands which saw a huge drop of 30.4 per cent, partly driven by tighter emission boundaries on company car taxation.