1965-66 Corvette Convertible Sunvisors, Red on 2040-parts.com

GM makes select OnStar services free

General Motors said on Wednesday that it will make unlocking doors, activating horn and lights, and remote start on equipped vehicles standard with its OnStar RemoteLink Mobile App for 2014 vehicles, even if owners decline to pay for other OnStar services. More than 36 Buicks, Cadillacs, GMC and Chevy models are compatible with the app. GM says it gets more than 60,000 requests from forgetful drivers each month, asking for door-unlock assistance, “so it makes sense for us to offer RemoteLink key-fob services to enable customers to lock, unlock or start their vehicle from anywhere they have a wireless or cellular connection,” said Mary Chan, president GM global connected-consumer business unit.

Study: Hybrids safer in accidents, more dangerous to pedestrians

In the first analysis of its kind, the Highway Loss Data Institute found that drivers of hybrid vehicles are, on average, 25 percent less likely to be injured in a crash than drivers of conventional vehicles. Matt Moore, the data institute's vice president and author of the study, said weight was a big factor in its analysis. “Hybrids on average are 10 percent heavier than their standard counterparts,” Moore said in a statement on Thursday.

Infiniti Steer-by-Wire on the way (video)

Nissan has revealed that it plans to install an electronic steer-by-wire system in to its Infiniti models in 2013. As car makers seek to squeeze every last fraction of a mile out of their cars to hit economy and emissions targets, computer control of many of a car’s functions are controlled by computer, which means the official tests for economy and emissions can be guaranteed to produce predictable results. Now Nissan are to take electronic steering to its logical conclusion by eliminating any direct connection between the steering wheel and the front wheels (except in an emergency) with the first fly-by-wire steering system in a production car.