Mercruiser Bravo 1 Upper Gear Assmbly 1.36 Ratio on 2040-parts.com

This week in 1963: N

Safety is a priority for drivers, teams and courses. Over the past century automobile safety has been slowly evolving (or rapidly evolving, if Ralph Nader has had anything to say about it). Needless to say, it is unusual for a safety feature that performed its function to make news.

Volvo develops new energy storage technology

Volvo is looking to make heavy batteries in electric vehicles a thing of the past, unveiling a new technology still under development that could use the body panels of the vehicle to store energy. Everyone knows that right now one of the biggest technological limiting factors of electric vehicles are the batteries. They can be damaged through depletion, they add weight, they use expensive and polluting technologies to manufacture, and they just don't hold as much energy as we'd like.

Land Rover DC100 concept

Land Rover's new DC100 concept vehicle is due to make its debut at the 2011 Frankfurt motor show, with the manufacturer also confirming that a new Defender is anticipated for 2015. The DC100 concept will be building upon the existing characteristics of the car and it is hoped that the concept will act as a catalyst for debate concerning the future of Defender models. The design team is headed by Gerry McGovern, Land Rover's director of design, who says, "This isn't a production-ready concept but the beginning of a four-year journey to design a relevant Defender for the 21st century." John Edwards, global brand director at Land Rover, explains that the manufacturer wants to engage with existing customers to finalise the details of the new vehicle as part of their plans to direct the future of the Defender.