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Volvo celebrates the seatbelt’s golden anniversary

By Freddie Fulton Motor Industry 12 August 2009 10:11 Today marks the 50th anniversary of the three-point seatbelt. It was patented by Volvo engineer Nils Bohlin in 1959, but the Swedes magnanimously opened up the tech to other car makers as they saw the real-world safety benefit of seatbelts in all cars. The design was so effective that in Germany the patent registrars listed it in the top eight inventions which have made an impact from 1885 to 1985.

The last ‘Real’ Bentleys leave the factory

Bentley Brooklands - The last of the 'Real' Bentleys Volkswagen’s takeover of Bentley has, certainly in sales and production terms, been a big success. Until the recent economic mire hit, the sales of Bentleys were at a previously unimagined level. In fact it got to the point where Bentleys no longer seemed ‘Special’, so ubiquitous had the sight of a Bentley Continental become on our roads.

Porsche Boxster (2012) first official pictures

Porsche only pulled the covers off the new 911 Cabriolet at the 2012 Detroit motor show three days ago, but it’s already unveiling another convertible: the new Porsche Boxster. Faster, lighter, cleaner, more economical, and (most importantly) better looking than its predecessor, it will be officially revealed at the Geneva motor show in March, before going on sale in the UK on 28 April 2012. Let’s start with the new Porsche Boxster’s looks then… It’s still recognisably a Boxster, but the headlights are now more vertically stacked, the doors are scalloped to flow into the bigger side intakes, a strong crease runs between the tail lamps and integrates with the pop-up rear spoiler, and every line and angle is just a little bit sharper and more dynamic.  The Porschephiles amongst you would have also spotted that the folding fabric roof no longer has a panel to drop behind; instead the roof itself now doubles as the cover when the hood is stowed.