Detroit motor show 2010: the CAR live blog from NAIAS

6.43pm: Standing outside the Cobo Hall entranceJS I'm done for. The show is emptying. I borrow a Haagen Daas choc ice from Mercedes on the way out into the D-town sleet.

Tour de France improve cycle safety

THE TOUR DE FRANCE, which starts in Yorkshire for the 2014 race, has helped increase cycle safety awareness by 90%. Cyclists report car drivers are being more patient and giving them more space on the road in the build-up to the biggest cycling race in the world. A survey by ColinAppleyard.com found 90% of drivers say they are more of cyclist because of Le Tour, while 73% of drivers said they are now more careful around cyclists.The arrival of the Tour de France has also made 10% of drivers consider buying a bike.

Porsche Battery – a mere £1200

The rather expensive Porsche Lithium Ion Battery Car batteries have been roughly the same shape and size – and utilised basically the same lead-acid technology – for years. They’ve got better, as you no longer need to top them up with distilled water at regular intervals (I’m showing my age now), and they are less prone to going flat. But that probably has more to do with alternators replacing dynamos than the batteries themselves.