Friday in Le Mans: Prerace parade and car show thrills crowds

The 24 Hours of Le Mans doesn't start until Saturday at 3 p.m. French time, but as anyone here will tell you, the festivities began much earlier in the week. On Friday, I had the opportunity to visit the Driver's Parade and car show in downtown Le Mans, a five-hour festival that brings out what appeared to be half the town, plus many race enthusiasts from around the globe.

Aston Martin US dealers could lose DB9 & Vantage – which could see many shutting up shop

The Aston Martin V12 Vantage S Roadster (pictured) might not make the US The rules and regulations car makers have to conform to are both enormous and onerous, and different markets have different regulations. And it looks like new side impact regulation could scupper AML’s sales in the US. New side impact rules – due to come in to force in the US in September – means that two of Aston Martin’s big sellers – the DB9 and Vantage V8 and V12 – would have to be withdrawn from sale in the US as they won’t comply.

2010 LA Design Challenge entrants revealed

Entries for the 2010 Los Angeles Design Challenge have now been revealed. The futuristic proposals, which called for designers to envision a 1000lbs (454kg) 2+2 vehicle that delivers comfort, safety and satisfactory driving performance without sacrificing the emotional connection today's consumers demand from their vehicles, come from the west coast design studios of seven automakers – General Motors, Honda, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Toyota and Volvo. For the first time since the Challenge's inception, studios outside California have also been allowed to enter the competition.