2013-2016 Ford Escape Driver Wheel Airbag Air Bag on 2040-parts.com

Center stack is new high-stakes battleground; showdown with safety regulators looms

For auto suppliers and gadget companies eager to get a piece of the auto industry, the hottest chunk of vehicle real estate now is the center stack. That corridor of interior space, running from the driver's right hip up through the center of the cockpit to the bottom of the windshield, has become a California gold rush of opportunity. But it is less so for traditional suppliers of molded plastics, cables, levers, buttons and radios.

Brits prefer driving abroad

BRITISH DRIVERS say they would rather drive abroad than in the UK because continental roads are less congested and in better repair. The lower price of fuel in continental Europe also attracts British drivers. Every year, 4.2 million British drivers head to Europe and research by the RAC shows the UK ranks only 24th when it comes to the quality of its roads.

Tesla Model S goes up in price

The electric Tesla Model S – which won’t arrive in the UK until at least late in 2013 – is going up in price in the US and gets a spec change. The Tesla Model S is perhaps, just perhaps, the only really credible electric car so far; a luxury ‘Sports’ saloon car that offers range almost comparable to an ICE car and, it seems, prices that aren’t an awful lot different. That makes it a far more appealing prospect as a replacement for an ICE car than anything we’ve previously seen.