Vintage Lucite Retro Car Auto Shift Knob Gear Shifter on 2040-parts.com

Volvo City Safe means lower insurance preniums for Volvo drivers

Volvo’s City safe has reduced insurance premiums for Volvo owners Volvo are on a mission to ensure that no one dies or is seriously injured in a Volvo by 2020, and that means more and more clever technology to protect Volvo drivers from the dangers of driving. One of those technologies is Volvo’s City Safe, a low speed (up to 31mph) collision avoidance system, that uses a laser at the top of the windscreen to monitor traffic and will automatically brake the car if its senses no reaction from the driver when a collision is imminent. So good is City Safe that Thatcham – the people who set insurance groups for cars – has decided Volvos fitted with City Safe should be rated in a lower group.

Audi launches showrooms without cars in London

Audi has opened its first digital showroom in London – Audi City – a fully digital showroom for Audi’s entire range near Piccadilly Circus. It’s something of a dilemma for car makers; how to sell their cars in a world that now revolves around the internet and digital access? Traditional car showrooms seem very last century, but choosing a car from a screen at home is still something many are reluctant to do.

Aston Martin DBRS9 (2008): first official pictures

By Ben Pulman First Official Pictures 11 January 2008 12:52 Two famous names will unite for the 2008 Le Mans 24hrs. Aston Martin will return to Le Sarthe to defend its GT1 crown and this time the cars – numbered 007 and 009 – will be in Gulf Oil colours. The evocative orange and eggshell blue DBRS9s will compete 40 years after a Gulf-liveried car first won Le Mans.