Corvair Headlight Bezel 1960 Rampside Truck on 2040-parts.com

Tomorrow's world: the touchscreen steering wheel

You might think the steering wheel has done a pretty good job of directing cars for the past century. But now a team of researchers from the University of Stuttgart is attempting to reinvent the wheel. The scientists have come up with a touchscreen steering wheel, which they reckon could replace the humble wheel with stereo and cruise controls.

Mercedes Viano Vision Diamond – the Maybach of vans

Mercedes Viano Vision Diamond Mercedes-Benz has revealed the Viano Vision Diamond at Beijing, a utilitarian Mercedes van with the interior of a Maybach. The Maybach brand didn’t do Mercedes any favours, with German glitterballs proving no match for British (oh, alright, German-ish) understated elegance in the Rolls Royce Phantom. Maybach has now been re-consigned to the dustbin of history and likely only ever to be seen as a badge to denote the glitziest model in the next S Class range.

Mazda Furai concept burns in Top Gear's hands

It's the 20th anniversary of Top Gear -- the magazine anyway -- and as it celebrates its 20th anniversary, the magazine has copped to the destruction of the Mazda Furai concept, which caught on fire while in its possession an unspecified length of time ago. "The 20th anniversary collectors" edition of BBC Top Gear magazine…reveals a host of until-now untold secrets," says a statement from the magazine's publisher, "including the truth behind the mysterious disappearance of Mazda's astonishing Furai concept (hint: it involves the East Anglia fire service)." Well, that sucks. Look at that picture above!