Lisle 20300 Vacuum Tester on 2040-parts.com

Toyota reveals safety research car at CES

One day before the International Consumer Electronics Show opened its doors in Las Vegas, Toyota took the wraps off the highest-tech Lexus LS ever made. The car -- with spinning sensors and probing lasers galore -- is meant to demonstrate safety features that could be coming to production cars someday soon. Called the Advanced Safety Research Vehicle, it sure looked like some of the autonomous self-driving vehicles we saw at the DARPA Challenge, but Toyota stressed that a robot car is not the goal.

Ian Callum’s Jaguar Mark 2 goes in to limited production – costs from £350,000

Ian Callum’s Jaguar Mark 2 goes in to limited production Jaguar designer Ian Callum has worked with Classic Motor Cars Limited (CMC) for more than a year to produce his perfect Jaguar Mark 2, and it’s been so well-received it’s going in to limited production. Still looking like a Jaguar MK II – but with a few modern twists – Ian’s car gets integrated bumpers for a smoother look, louvres on the front wings, a set of split-rim wire wheels, an upgraded 4.3 litre XK engine, five-speed manual ‘box, upgraded suspension and brakes and a new interior. To our eyes, the whole car looks incredibly homogeneous and not at all like the ruination of a classic, and that seems to be the feeling of Jaguar lovers round the world.

Rumour: Aston Martin One-77 gets canned – or does it?

Aston Martin is really struggling at the moment. Discounts abound (particularly on ’08 model year cars – you can have a V8 Vantage Roadster for not much over £60k, and a DB9 for £75k), and new car sales are as rare as hens teeth. Not surprisingly, there have been deep job cuts, and the dealer network is really struggling to survive.