Linch Pins 7/16" Od, 1 1/2" L 3013-1325 on 2040-parts.com

Mercedes-Benz reveals new S-class interior

Mercedes-Benz has revealed the interior for its next-generation S-class in a series of darkly lit photographs aimed at emphasizing the car's ambience. While appearing similar to current models in a number of key areas, the cabin of the flagship Mercedes-Benz sedan has been redesigned in a bid to provide it with added levels of luxury, comfort, space and new multimedia functions. Key among developments is a new dashboard with horizontal architecture and ambient lighting to accentuate its width.

Concept Car of the Week: Saab Aero X

In January 2005 Bryan Nesbitt, then-executive director of GM Europe Design, charged the 15-strong Saab Advanced design team in Gothenburg, Sweden, to create the "ultimate vision of the brand". The design team – led by head of Advanced Design at Saab, Anthony Lo – worked on a number of sports car proposals, which were considered 'the jet fighters of the road.' The chosen proposal by Alex Daniel was for a large, front-engined sports car that would become one of the most universally acclaimed concept cars of recent times. Of course the Aero X's door arrangement – complete with huge, forward-hinged canopy – is its party trick, but even without the theatrics the car's proportions, surfacing and graphics are exceptional.

Battery breakthrough set to accelerate electric-car development

A team of scientists working at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are claiming a significant breakthrough in recharging times for lithium-ion batteries. According to findings published in the scientific journal Nature, MIT researchers Byoungwoo Kang and Gerbrand Ceder have unlocked the potential of lithium-ion batteries by patenting a unique process which is claimed to allow a typical laptop power pack to be fully recharged in less than a minute--an improvement in recharging performance of roughly 90 percent over existing lithium-ion batteries. Lithium-ion batteries generate electric current via the flow of lithium ions across an electrolyte, from an electrode to a cathode.