Swivel Snap Shackle on 2040-parts.com

IFR Aspid – simply astonishing

The IFR Aspid drew a lot of attention at this year's Salon Prive Not the best known name in the motoring world, IFR – and it’s main man, Ignacio Fernández – are never the less a force to be reckoned with, and we’re pretty sure we’ll be hearing a whole lot more from them before too long. So what’s the IFR Aspid, I hear you asking. Think something akin to a Caterham 7, but sporting technology from Buck Rogers and with none of your garden-shed makers bare-bones creature comforts.

GM to slash global vehicle platforms by more than half, to 14, by 2018

General Motors says it will cut the number of vehicle platforms it uses globally by more than half over the next decade, in a bid to reduce complexity and save on product-development costs. “More of our components will be common, and more of our vehicles will be on global architectures,” GM CEO Dan Akerson told analysts on Tuesday. His remarks came as GM kicked off a series of presentations online, billed as its 2011 Global Business Conference.

Safety fears over Beatles crossing

Tourists flocking to one of Britain's favourite musical landmarks to recreate the Beatles' Abbey Road crossing could see the addition of a "lollipop lady" to their holiday snaps. Westminster Council has raised safety fears over the "thousands and thousands" of people who visit the zebra crossing, in St John's Wood, north London, made famous by the band in 1969. In some cases, fans are putting themselves at risk of frustrated drivers who often struggle to make it over the crossing because of the constant stream of pedestrians attempting to recreate the image.