Beck/arnley Ignition Starter Switch... 201-1410 on 2040-parts.com

This week in 1963: N

Safety is a priority for drivers, teams and courses. Over the past century automobile safety has been slowly evolving (or rapidly evolving, if Ralph Nader has had anything to say about it). Needless to say, it is unusual for a safety feature that performed its function to make news.

Concept Car of the Week: Mercedes F200 Imagination (1996)

The F200 Imagination was designed at Mercedes' Advanced Design studio in Tokyo, in response to the question 'does the car of the future still have a steering wheel and foot-operated controls?' Take a look at the car's interior and the answer was fairly emphatic, as the steering wheel and pedals were replaced by joysticks, called Sidesticks, that operated the throttle, brakes and steering by wire. There were two sticks to choose from, one on the left of the cabin and one in the center console. However, both had the same function – push forward to accelerate, left or right to turn, and back to brake – so either of the front passengers could control the car.

Lexus previews production NX compact crossover

Lexus has published a preview of the 2015 Lexus NX luxury compact crossover, scheduled to debut April 20 at the 2014 China auto show in Beijing. The upcoming Lexus NX is meant to battle the likes of the BMW X1, the Audi Q3, and the Mercedes-Benz GLA, and it was previewed earlier in concept form as the LF-NX. Lexus has once again gone from concept to production vehicle in record time, and if this teaser image is any indication, it has significantly toned town the design of the LF-NX concept -- no surprise there, though in this case it appears Lexus has ditched the angular design language almost entirely.