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New gadget immobilises cars with electronic pulse

Mitsubishi It might sound futuristic, but British technology company E2V has developed a prototype gadget capable of remotely stopping a car using a burst of electromagnetic radiation. Although it does appear to be a piece of equipment from the ‘James Bond bad guy’ locker, this technology really does work and could be used by police forces in the future. On Bing: see pictures of speeding carsHow motoring convictions affect your car insurance So bank robbers beware – even speeders, too.

Mercedes launch new 9G-Tronic gearbox on E350 BlueTec

New Mercedes E350 BlueTec (pictured) gets 9-speed 9G-TRONIC auto It’s not exactly a million years ago that automatic gearboxes offered poorer performance and economy than manual gearboxes, and came as standard with just three gears. But now, automatic gearboxes are so good they can  change quicker than any driver and, with the proliferation of eight-speed auto ‘boxes, offer improved economy and performance too. The next logical step is even more ratios in an auto ‘box, and Land Rover has already revealed they’ll be fitting the Evoque with a 9-speed ZF ‘box from 2014, and the new Jeep Grand Cherokee gets a nine-speed auto ‘box too.

New Jaguar XJ Supersport Diesel coming?

The Jaguar XJ Supersport TDV8 - expect it in showrooms in 2011 We’ve known for quite a while that Jaguar Land Rover were going to start putting a new V8 diesel in to their cars. The 3.6 litre TDV8 which goes in the Land Rover is a very good lump (made by Ford at Dagenham) with some decent horses and a nice fat lump of torque. But the introduction by Jaguar of the 3.0 litre diesel and its subsequent introduction in to Land Rover’s cars meant the 3.6 litre’s days were numbered.