Seasense Twist Drain Plug 1in Stainless Steel on 2040-parts.com

Ford is developing a virtual child to improve safety research

Researchers at Ford have started constructing a "virtual" six-year-old child that will help them research future safety devices. It will take years to build the complex, multilayer digital dummy, Ford said on Thursday. And the finished computer model won't be used for vehicle validation or crash testing.

Video: Chris Bangle delivers “Empowerment: Design without Designers” talk at Creative Mornings/London

Chris Bangle – the undisputed front man of car design – needs little introduction, so the prospect of the former BMW Design Director and now founder of Chris Bangle Associates giving a talk in our home town of London was too good to pass up. His presentation (which you can watch in full in the video to the left) touched on his time at BMW, but was more focused on the idea of empowering others to create: "design without you in the middle", as Bangle says. From the story of the co-creation of the staircase in his Italian studio to the idea of encouraging people to think about their culture when designing, his philosophies transcend disciplines.

All new Nissan X-Trail for 2014: Frankfurt 2013

The All new Nissan X-Trail for 2014 (pictured) revealed at Frankfurt 2013 Nissan has finally brought their X-Trail SUV up to date with an all new X-Trail debuting at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Gone are the boxy looks of the old X-Treail to be replaced by a much more modern looking package that takes many of its styling cues from the Juke and Qashqai, promising much more appeal to buyers in the process. Despite its cosmetic makeover that moves it closer to its soft-roading siblings, the new X-Trail still promises to fo the rough stuff with a decent amount of aplomb.