Napa Lighting 1 Pair on 2040-parts.com

Are new car sales figures a fantasy?

A recent report from Germany claimed up to 30 per cent of new car sales were a fiction. Could the same be true in the UK? Despite the recession – and the lack of finance deals for a huge number of potential customers – new car sales in the UK seem to be rising inexorably.

MIT develops self-transforming materials that behave 'like robots without robots'

A cross-disciplinary research lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed a suite of programmable materials, including carbon fiber, printed wood grain, textile composites, rubbers and plastics, that self-transform when exposed to an external stimulus. Director of the Self-Assembly Lab, Skylar Tibbits, presented a TED talk on 4D printing in 2013, where he demonstrated how a flat sheet of material could effectively build itself when exposed to water, like a robot without a robot. Following positive feedback from industries including aviation, automotive and manufacturing, his lab has been working on developing materials that change according to different activation sources, including heat, light, and air pressure, in addition to water – all of which have automotive relevance.

The Quail: the ultra exclusive classic car party at Pebble Beach 2013

2013’s The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, celebrated Aston Martin’s centenary, Lamborghini’s half century and the event’s 11th outing. MSN Cars went to pay homage on its special lawn, while F1 star Michael Schumacher and former Ferrari supremo Jean Todt hosted a casual Q&A and major league car collector and US chat show host Jay Leno walked among us. It was that sort of a do.