Shackle Swivel on 2040-parts.com

BMW's EfficientDynamics teaser (2010)

This rather strange looking black BMW is the German car company’s latest publicity stunt. Painted matt black, and with ‘dontblogaboutthis’ emblazoned across its flanks, it is of course a tease designed to get forums fanatics and bloggers worked up into a frenzy as everyone tries to guess what it is. BMW has released just a few photos, plus a couple of videos, all of which are on www.dontblogaboutthis.com.

L’argus Student Competition 2009

French magazine L'argus de l'automobile has announced the winners of its seventh Student Competition Awards, themed ‘Automobile Design for Social Utility'. Open to students studying design within the European Union and Switzerland, the competition culminated at a recent awards ceremony at the Eiffel Tower. The first prize of €3000 and an internship at Renault's Technocentre in Guyancourt (near Paris) went to Damien Grossemy, Thibaut Dereymacker and Maxime Dimarco from the Institut Supérieur de Design in Valenciennes, France.

Smoking in cars containing children to be banned

SMOKING IN CARS in the presence of children is to be outlawed in England by the end of the year, Downing Street has signalled, after MPs voted overwhelmingly to make it a criminal offence. A No 10 source said Parliament had made its view clear and ministers are now looking at the practicalities of implementing the ban, with a view to getting it place before 2015. The Commons voted by 376 to 107 last night - a majority of 269 - to give the Health Secretary the power to impose a ban in England.