New Ducati Panigale 1199 Carbon Heel Guards 96450811b on 2040-parts.com

Growing opposition to UK 50mph speed limit plan

UK Government plans to cut 60mph national speed limit to 50mph in 2010 By Peter Adams Motoring Issues 08 June 2009 14:21 Opposition to the UK Government’s plan to lower the national speed limit from 60 to 50mph is gathering momentum. Almost 34,000 people have now signed a petition on the Number 10 website urging the Government to ‘not reduce the national speed limit to 50mph.’  It’s become the second most popular petition on the site – ahead of similar bids to stop the Government raising university tuition fees and beaten only by one calling for Gordon Brown to resign as prime minister.Cutting the UK’s national speed limits from 60mph to 50mph: the backgroundBack in March 2009, plans were announced that the Government wanted to cut the national speed limit from 60mph to 50mph on single carriageways in rural areas. In urban areas, some 30mph limits could drop to 20mph.If steamrollered through, the sweeping change to Britain’s speed limits could be enforced from 2010.

Opel Ampera plug-in hybrid design sketches leak out

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 19 February 2009 09:28 These pictures allegedly reveal the production-spec Opel/Vauxhall Ampera a fortnight ahead of its Geneva show debut. A Spanish website claims to have stumbled across the technical design sketches at a European patent office and – if authentic – they spill the beans on the new plug-in hybrid electric concept car that’s bound for a showroom near you within two years. The Ampera is Opel/Vauxhall’s version of the Chevrolet Volt, the breakthrough car that could just save GM if it survives its current crisis.

Nissan creates a self-cleaning Note – and this one’s for real. (video)

The Nissan Note that cleans itself The Sunday chore of cleaning the car is beloved (and loathed, in equal measure) by those who’d rather do it themselves than pay a man with a bucket, a sponge and a chamois  to oblige. But regular car washing – for anyone – could be a thing of the past thanks to a new nano-paint technology. The newly developed super-hydrophobic and oleophobic paint manages to repel water and oil, which means stuff like everyday dirt, mud and rain don’t have the chance to cling to the car’s paintwork.