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McLaren plan to make windscreen wipers obsolete

McLaren plan to make windscreen wipers obsolete Much of the ‘clunkiness’ in cars – stuff like wind-up windows and a cranking handle – have been made obsolete in cars as technology arrived to make things work better, but one thing that remains on modern cars from the dawn of the motoring age is the windscreen wiper. Invented by Mary Anderson in 1903 after she realised drivers of the first motor cars were having to lean out of the window in rainy conditions to see where they were going, it became a standard fitting on all cars within a few years. Windscreen wipers have certainly improved over the years as technology has developed, but they’re still basically a strip of rubber moving across the windscreen to clear rain.

Porsche 911 50 Years Edition celebrates the 911′s half century

The Porsche 911 50 Years Edition (pictured) celebrates half a century of the 911 If you’d guessed how much the Porsche 911 would change in the coming years when it was first launched in 1963, there’s a pretty strong chance you’d have decided the shape would change out of all recognition and the engine would move from the back to the front. But you’d have been wrong. The Porsche 911, perhaps more than any other car ever made, has evolved over its 50 years of life instead of being replaced by a new and ‘better’ car.

2013 Astra Cabrio caught on video

We have video of the 2013 Opel / Vauxhall Astra Cabriolet on video ahead of its debut at the Paris Motor Show. We’re guessing that even though the 2013 Astra Cabriolet (which will arrive as both the Vauxhall and Opel Cabrio) is due to debut at the Paris Motor Show next month, it won’t be in showrooms until the spring – just in time for another miserable summer. Ahead of that debut, GM Europe are out at the Nurburgring making sure their new soft-top doesn’t wibble wobble too much, resulting in the spy video below.