Beck/arnley 037-8063 Intake Manifold Set on 2040-parts.com

Rated: self-braking cars that avoid a crash

The most recent advance in vehicle safety has to be the autonomous emergency braking system (AEB) – a sophisticated suite of sensors and electronics that monitors objects in front of your car, automatically applying the brakes for you if it senses you’re heading to hit something. Up until now these auto-brake features have not been rated, but ahead of a new 2014 test that will include AEB systems in its overall safety star scoring, Euro NCAP has put the some of the vehicles already equipped with this technology through their paces. MSN Cars has the results.

Lego movie needs vehicle designers

Lego is giving its fans the chance to win $1,000 and see their own custom Lego vehicle designs on the big screen in ‘Lego: The Motion Picture'. There are no limitations on what kind of vehicles you can design, but the trick is that the vehicle you design must look like it was built from something else - a castle that was made into a racecar, a hot dog stand that was made into an airplane, for example. The Warner Brothers 3D CGI film will be directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller – director of '21 Jump Street' and ‘Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs' – and produced by Dan Lin (‘Sherlock Holmes') and ‘How to Train Your Dragon' producer Roy Lee.

Porsche plans four-door Panamera convertible

A series of European and U.S. patent applications obtained by AutoWeek show that Porsche remains committed to building a four-door convertible version of its flagship Panamera, despite recent comments from Zuffenhausen insiders indicating the car had been canceled. The new car, depicted in official drawings that accompany the latest Porsche patent applications filed in February, eschews the two-door route taken by all of its upmarket rivals for a four-door body.