Concept Car of the Week: BMW Turbo (1972)

Built by Michelotti in Turin and unveiled at the 1972 Paris motor show, the BMW Turbo was built both as a symbol of the carmaker's strength after its troubles in the ‘60s and as a celebration of that summer's Olympic Games in Munich. This two-door coupe, based on a modified 2002 chassis with a mid-mounted engine, was born when BMW's design director Paul Bracq convinced the board to let him design a concept that would be part design exercise, part technology testbed. Safety had become an increasingly important consideration following a number of design summits in the early ‘70s, and Bracq used the Turbo to test out a number of safety solutions.

Vauxhall Zafira (2008): first official pictures

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 15 February 2008 15:14 Vauxhall is about to give its Zafira MPV – Britain’s best-selling people carrier – a spruce-up. The facelifted model arrives in time for the new March 2008 ‘08’ number plate, but buyers will be hard pressed to notice the changes: new chrome detailing on the grille, different foglight surrounds, and redesigned lights front and rear give the game away. Other changes include curtain airbags made standard on all models and… actually, there’s not much else new.

California looks to tighten pollution limits

The California Air Resources Board is scheduled to vote on Thursday on whether to adopt stricter clean-air standards for the state proposed by the Advanced Clean Car program. The program's proposal combines the control of soot, smog-causing pollutants and greenhouse-gas emissions into a package that may be required for model years 2017 through 2025. According to the program, the rules aim to clean up conventionally powered cars, deliver more zero-emissions cars and ensure that a fueling infrastructure is available.