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Bungling thief caught after stealing hire car's steering wheel

A DIM-WITTED criminal has been convicted of theft after stealing parts of a brand new Audi A3 hire car and replacing them with old bits taken from his much older Audi S3. Alexander Keating, a 23-year-old former bodyshop technician who lost his job following the conviction, stole parts as obvious as the steering wheel and gear knob from the A3 that his mum had hired after damaging her car in an accident. Keating foolishly believed no one would notice the battered old steering wheel on the otherwise shiny, new car, but sure enough the mismatched parts were spotted and the hapless bungler was caught by the car hire firm’s bespoke anti-fraud team Asset Protection Unit (APU).

Tomorrow's world: the touchscreen steering wheel

You might think the steering wheel has done a pretty good job of directing cars for the past century. But now a team of researchers from the University of Stuttgart is attempting to reinvent the wheel. The scientists have come up with a touchscreen steering wheel, which they reckon could replace the humble wheel with stereo and cruise controls.

2013 Volkswagen Golf Estate (Mk 7) revealed early

We have the first photos of the next Variant in the Golf Mk 7 line – the VW Golf Estate – ahead of its debut at the Geneva Motor Show next week. More in the ‘They didn’t want it to arrive yet‘ saga in the run-up to the start of the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, with this offering being the firts pictures of the new VW Golf Estate. There really isn’t a huge amount to say about the new Golf Estate except it’s a Mk 7 Golf with a small shed on the back and looks likely to be a favourite family buy.