Diversified Machine Aluminum Torque Tube H.d. 28in Src-2390 on 2040-parts.com

Vauxhall Astra (2010) ecoFLEX arrives

Vauxhall has added the ecoFLEX to the Astra range There was a time – not so long ago – when car makers trumpeted the arrival of the range-topping, high-performance model of a new car shortly after the main range launched. But now the fanfares are reserved for the super-eco model. Such are the times in which we live.

Exclusive First Sight: Pininfarina Sergio concept

Upon receiving the call from Pininfarina's PR man, asking if Car Design News would like to head to Torino for a preview of its latest concept car (not a hard offer to accept), we had no other information than its name – Sergio – and an abstract teaser shot of a detail. Driving through lovely, crumbly Turin, and out into the zona industriale towards Pininfaina's Cambiano base, the fear strikes: what if the car's a disappointment? What if it's simply some unremarkable supermini – maybe even an electric one?

Next Volvo infotainment system will look like an iPhone

After more than a decade of disparate and clunky systems that have tried to force their ways of doing things upon our already-overloaded brains, it appears that smartphones and cars are finally going to be friends, after all. And by that, we don't mean that it's suddenly OK to text and drive. Rather, the infotainment systems in cars are finally going to have operating systems that mirror those of smartphones as they interact with your own phone.