Mercedes Benz 500sl- Brake Foot Pad on 2040-parts.com

Car Insurance ‘Black Box’ a good idea? We find out.

We’ve been testing a new ‘Telematics’ App from Confused.com which mimics the ‘Black Box’ technology insurers are offering in an attempt to make car insurance cheaper. The inexorable rise and rise of car insurance premiums is a fact of life, and will continue until government gets a handle on ambulance-chasing lawyers and the UK’s idiotic whiplash claims industry. But if you’re looking to find a way to cut your insurance premiums, then having a ‘Black ‘Box’ fitted to your car to monitor your driving so you get charged for how much – and how well – you drive looks a promising idea.

Renault turn central London in to a full-size Scalextric for the Zoe EV (video)

The Renault Zoe Scalextric cars turn on to the Embankment Even those who have never driven an electric car probably have if we count childhood exploits with Scalextric; hand-grip controllers clenched in hand seeing how fast you can go before your car tips off in a bend. So Renault decided it would be a good idea to create a full-size Scalextric track in central London, modify a pair of Renault Zoe EVs to slot in to the newly fabricated track and blat the cars round the 1.9 mile track in London controlled by competition winners from a helicopter hovering overhead. The race sees the two Zoes go head-to-head on the Scalextric track, starting out on the South Bank by the London Eye, over Westminster Bridge, past the Houses of Parliament, down the Embankment, up The Strand, over Waterloo Bridge, round the IMAX and finishing alongside the Thames at the finish line.

New Range Rover Sport set to debut at New York Auto Show

It looks like the 2014 Range Rover Sport – the Sporty take on the new 2013 Range Rover – will debut in a month’s time at the New York Auto Show. The new Range Rover debuted at last year’s Paris Motor Show, and we had expected Land Rover to debut its sporty sibling – the new Range Rover Sport – at this year’s Frankfurt show in September. But it now looks like Land Rover are planning to get the 2014 Range Rover Sport in the public eye at the 2013 New York Auto Show instead.