Dittel Fsg 70 Com Radio on 2040-parts.com

New Mercedes-Benz SL to use aluminum to cut weight

The next Mercedes-Benz SL coupes will get more power, less weight and a few neat tricks, including features named Magic Vision Control and FrontBass. We'll get our first look at the new car at the Detroit auto show in January. A few journalists were invited to take a sneak peak at the car during the Los Angeles auto show, but pictures and video weren't allowed.

America trialling solar-powered roads

Solar Roadways After glow-in-the-dark road markings proved to be a bit of a flop when the paint washed away in the rain, experts are now experimenting with solar-powered motorways. A small, family-owned American company based in Idaho called Solar Roadways has created a short section of road that uses the sun’s energy to power nearby buildings, as well as electric cars. If the solar-powered roads are adopted worldwide, it could put an end to the range-anxiety commonly associated with electric vehicles.

(Another) Audi A3 e-tron hybrid at Geneva 2013

The Audi A3 e-tron – a hybrid A3 EV based on the A3 Sportback – will debut at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show as a concept. This Audi A3 e-tron isn’t a pointless electric supercar – like the R8 e-tron – or another rollout of the A3 e-tron BEV, but a hybrid A3 with a proper ICE engine coupled to an electric motor, just like the A3 e-tron concept we saw in Shanghai in 2011 That still means a lot of complicated and heavy technology to game the silly official economy tests and come up with ‘official’ economy figures of 158mpg and 35g/km, but the A3 e-tron would – if it were made – offer big tax breaks for company car drivers. The A3 e-tron gets a 1.4 litre direct injection petrol engine good for 148bhp working with an electric motor good for an extra 100bhp.