Schmitt Destroyer Marine Steering Wheel on 2040-parts.com

Volvo celebrates the seatbelt’s golden anniversary

By Freddie Fulton Motor Industry 12 August 2009 10:11 Today marks the 50th anniversary of the three-point seatbelt. It was patented by Volvo engineer Nils Bohlin in 1959, but the Swedes magnanimously opened up the tech to other car makers as they saw the real-world safety benefit of seatbelts in all cars. The design was so effective that in Germany the patent registrars listed it in the top eight inventions which have made an impact from 1885 to 1985.

2012 Nissan 370Z Facelift – if you look really closely

The 2012 Nissan 370Z gets a mild tweak - debuts at the Chicago Motor Show The Nissan 370Z is getting a facelift for 2012 – which will debut this week at the Chicago Motor Show – but it’s not extensive. All the car buzz at the moment – at least around new models – is about the Geneva Motor Show in March. Which might explain why the 2012 Nizzan 370Z facelift is getting paraded on a much quieter stage at the Chicago Motor Show. Because we’re struggling to see what exactly Nissan has done to the 370Z for 2012.

Vauxhall Corsa now gets 85.6 mpg

The Vauxhall Corsa 1.3 CDTI ecoFLEX Start/Stop now achieves 85.6mpg with emissions of just 88g/km.  The Vauxhall Corsa –  and, for that matter, the Opel Corsa – has been revealed as the most economical car ever built by GM Europe after a series of tweaks has cut its already impressive fuel consumption. The Corsa 1.3 CDTI ecoFLEX Start-Stop )which, fortunately, isn’t emblazoned on the boot lid in full) can now squeeze 85.6 miles out of every gallon of diesel, which means emissions drop to just 88g/km. Vauxhall has had yet another play with their 1.3 litre diesel and fitted a variable displacement oil pump that delivered pressure to suit the load, had a tweak with the Corsa’s brain and filled low-viscosity oil in the gearbox  The result is in improvement of 7 per cent in economy over the current Corsa.