Aircraft/ Aviation Tools Soft Mallet (new) on 2040-parts.com

Michelin Challenge Design 2007: The not so ugly truth about rising vehicle safety standards

Can cars be safe and beautiful at the same time? That may not have been the case a few decades ago when automakers were forced to hang those big, ugly so-called federal bumpers off the ends of their vehicles.  With vehicle safety standards on the rise around the globe are designers today feeling a little '70s deja vu when it comes to meeting the challenges of making cars safe as well as more fuel efficient? "(Back then) we said it was the end of automotive styling," says Patrick Le Quement, senior vice president for corporate design at Renault and one of the world's most influential automotive designers.

Pensioner rescued from sinking car

A PENSIONER had a lucky escape when he was rescued from his car just before it sank under water after he was stranded on a tidal causeway. The man, in his 80s, was trapped inside the vehicle with the sea rising around him after he got stuck on the causeway between Overton and Sunderland Point, Lancashire, the RNLI said. Emergency services were called just before 3.30pm yesterday and the Morecambe RNLI's inshore lifeboat crew found the man inside the car and unable to open the doors because of the pressure of water.

New car sales up by 3% on 2013

ANOTHER RISE in new car sales in February has meant purchases have increased every month for two years. A total of 68,736 vehicles were registered last month - a 3% rise on the total for February 2013, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said. Sales for the first two months of this year have totalled 223,298 - a 6.1% rise on the total for the first two months of 2013 SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said the two years of continuous growth was "a real endorsement of consumer confidence and the attractiveness of the new car market".