Proof of its plan to...
Proof of its plan to build a staggering 321,000 Rover 75s in the next five years has been seen by Auto Express - and not a single one will come from Birmingham.
Hi-tech seatbelts that...
Hi-tech seatbelts that protect motorists in pile-ups are set to make motorway driving safer.
Crash technology specialist Autoliv unveiled a new design that pulls occupants upright after an accident. It then resets itself in milliseconds, ready for subsequent impacts. This is made possible by a pneumatic pre-tensioner which has twice the power of standard systems.
One in four accidents involves more than one impact, claims Autoliv, and multi-car crashes are four times more likely to result in fatalities. Currently, occupants can be in a bad position for a second impact, said a spokesman. Hunched forward, they could slip off the airbag or be more severely hurt. This puts them in the best place.
The Swedish firm created the seatbelt-mounted airbag in the safety-focused Mercedes ESF (Issue 1,068) and the system is likely to debut in top-end cars like the S-Class. Volvo, which has worked with Autoliv on whiplash protection, could be another early adopter although the belts wont be available until 2014.