Vintage Corvette C4 Horn Button on 2040-parts.com

Feds look at Toyota electronics as source of accelerator defects

The U.S. Department of Transportation is looking into whether Toyota Motor Corp.'s problems with unintended acceleration can be traced to defects in the electrical controls rather than just the mechanical problems cited by the automaker, a Transportation official said Tuesday. “We're not finished with Toyota and are continuing to review possible defects and monitor the implementation of the recalls,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement.

Mercedes-Benz scores double wins at German Design Council awards

Mercedes-Benz took home two design trophies from the 2014 German Design Council awards, winning Special Mentions for the 2014 Mercedes-Benz S-class and the Ener-G-Force concept vehicle. The German Design Council traces its history back decades, and every year dozens of experts evaluate more than a thousand entries, with just a fraction of them being automotive designs. This year 30 well-known design experts judged approximately 1900 submissions, assessing a variety of design elements in picking their top choices, and this year a duo of Mercedes-Benz vehicles won the praise of design gurus.

Mercedes Ener-G-Force concept (2012) first pictures

Mercedes' latest concept car is, in its own words, 'pure, rendered science fiction'. This is the new Ener-G-Force, a one-off model depicting a civilian version of a futuristic police car. It's a product of the 2012 Los Angeles Design Challenge, which briefed manufacturers to dream up their vision for a highway patrol vehicle fit for the year 2025.