State Farm releases Driver Feedback app

Accelerometers aren't just for the autocross geeks who want to see whether they threw more than 1.0 lateral g's on their last apex. These gadgets have made their way to the iPhone. State Farm is releasing its Driver Feedback app, which uses the iPhone's high-tech guts (accelerometer, gyroscope and digital compass) to measure driving habits such as smoothness or aggressiveness during acceleration, frequency and abruptness of braking and how hard you take corners (ahem, BMW owners).

Porsche Boxster S: 2013 Autoweek Best of the Best/Car

Today, Autoweek editors announced the Porsche Boxster S and Mercedes-Benz GL as the car and truck winners at the 2013 Best of the Best awards presentation. Editor Wes Raynal revealed the winners and presented Best of the Best trophies to representatives from the winning auto manufacturers. 2013 Porsche Boxster S: Autoweek Best of the Best/Car “As the only brand to have two models make our list of finalists, Porsche showed up in force,” Raynal said.

Call for reform over road repair funding

FUNDING patterns mean most road maintenance is being carried out in "less-efficient, cold and wet" times, a report from a Government spending watchdog has said. The current pattern of funding, combined with the need to spend money within the financial year, means that most maintenance work goes on between September and March, said the report from the National Audit Office (NAO). It went on: "Although this is less disruptive for road users, it is less efficient than carrying out the work at other times of year because materials can be more difficult to handle in cold and wet conditions, and daylight hours are shorter." The report went on: "As a result of the additional funding for emergency repairs, which is made available at the end of the financial year, almost all highways authorities need extra capacity from the market at the same time, which makes it less likely that they will get value for money." The NAO report said there was a "lack of predictability" over road spending adding that historically, local highway authorities spent more revenue on maintenance, but were now carrying out fewer routine activities such as clearing gullies which are essential to preventing water seeping into roads' sub-structure.