Polaris 2411450 Asm-taillight on 2040-parts.com

The no-show cars: a reader rant on mad concepts

Instigated by Harley Earl at General Motors in the late 30s with the quaintly named Buick Y-Job, show cars, or concept cars, were presented to an excited public eager for new things. As the world recovered from a depression and then a war, these vehicles pointed to a better future that many people believed in, including the people who produced them. And, although many of the concept cars of the 50s, with their Jetsons plexiglass roofs and notional nuclear powered engines seem ludicrous now, in their time they weren’t that cynical.

£110BN price tag put on Deadly accidents by Road Safety Body

A NEW report commissioned by a parliamentary safety group claims that deaths and serious injuries on the roads are likely to cost society £110 billion in the years to 2030. According to the Parliamentary Advisory Committee for Transport Safety (Pacts), the total of those killed or seriously injured (KSIs) over this period is expected to be around a third of a million. These figures are expected despite the report predicting a dip in KSIs and slight injuries by 2030 compared with figures for 2012.

GM car, OnStar apps now available

Owners of 2011 Chevrolet models can now download the myChevrolet and OnStar MyLink apps, giving them the ability to start their engines, unlock and lock their vehicles and read their owner's manuals, among other services, from their iPhone or Android devices. The free downloads at www.apple.com or www.android.com became available on Friday. The app gives the Chevy owner the ability to scan the VIN with the device camera to get specific vehicle information and answers to common questions.