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'Concrete glimpse' of near-future Audi technology

THE “near future” of Audi design and powertrain engineering has been unveiled ahead of the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit. The Allroad Shooting Brake show car will premiere an exciting new high-powered petrol-electric plug-in hybrid drivetrain and a development of the firm’s current design language. It is expected that the Allroad Shooting Brake will form the basis for future Q-badged models as well as a potentially expended Allroad range.

Fewer people being killed in car-truck collisions, study finds

Death rates in crashes between big trucks and cars dropped 64 percent in 2008-09 compared with 2000-01, according to an insurance-industry study of government data. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety cited changes in vehicle design, particularly for SUVs and pickups, as a key factor in the decline. The number of deaths for car and minivan passengers involved in crashes with larger vehicles fell from 44 per million in 2000-01 to 16 deaths per million in 2008-09, the study found.

Honda's Asimo robot is ready to work in your home

TECHNOLOGY giant Honda has shown that a robotic personal assistant that can help you in and out of the home is no longer solely the subject of science fiction, with the debut of its latest ASIMO robot. The humanoid machine has been upgraded so that it can now run, hop and even pick up and interact with objects in the world around it. Honda has been working on robotics since the 1980s, and this latest incarnation of ASIMO is the most advanced the company has ever produced, with improvements made to movement and reactions.