Toyota Corolla 1997 Factory Radio A51202 on 2040-parts.com

Mercedes touts future safety with research vehicle

In 1980, when several automakers began to use airbags, there were people who thought that cars couldn't possibly get any safer. Karl-Heinz Baumann, a safety researcher at Mercedes-Benz AG in Stuttgart, was not one of them. "We said, 'No, it cannot be all,' and we kept doing more research." The results of that research are presented on the company's most recent Experimental Safety Vehicle (ESV), on display now in the Mercedes Museum in Stuttgart.

180,000 'lied over motor insurance'

NEARLY 3,500 cases of motorists lying on their applications for insurance or deliberately leaving relevant information off them are being uncovered by insurers each week, new figures reveal. Some 180,675 attempts to make fraudulent applications for motor insurance as people tried to get cheaper cover than they were entitled to were detected last year, equating to around 3,475 incidents a week, according to data released by the Association of British Insurers (ABI). These claims were exposed as lies by the insurer either at the point when the person applied for a policy, or after they had obtained cover and had gone on to make a claim.

Kia Recall: 25,000 UK Kias recalled for faulty brake lights

Kia are recalling 25,000 vehicles in the UK Kia’s research and development checks have uncovered a fault in the brake light switch on a whole raft of Kia cars built between 2006 and 2011, with over 25,000 UK-owned Kias being recalled to have a fix. Models affected are previous model Carens, Sedona, Sorento and Sportage and some of the current Sorento and Soul models as well as a few Optimas (actually, just 2 Optimas). This isn’t a huge problem for owners, but Kia has discovered that carbonisation on the brake light switch contacts can make the switch a bit glitchy, with the possibility the brake lights might not come on at all when the brake pedal is pressed or, if they do come on, they may stay on.