In addition to improving safety, Mercedes Benz‘s new active seatbelt buckle also eliminates the annoying practice of trying to buckle up when the connecting clips have fallen between or been pushed down the cars seats.

The seat belt buckle doesn’t only come with bright glowing LEDs to easily secure yourself, particularly in the dark, but also comes equipped with a motorized system that extends the buckles upwards as much as 2.8-inches, so they’re hard to miss and easier to use. For enhanced safety in the event of a crash, the active seat belt buckle also works in reverse, slightly retracting after impact so it holds the passenger more securely.

The new system will be implemented in Mercedes Benz’s more luxury models in the near future but will hopefully be available for Daimler’s more affordable models so the general public can also benefit from this great innovation.

Source: Gizmodo

Just months before the 2012 Olympic Games kicks off in London, BMW has unveiled its new pavilion that will be constructed in the host city.

The winning design came from the British architectural firm Serie after bids from six different companies. As the sole automotive sponsor of the international event, BMW has been given permission to build its pavilion at the Olympic Park where it will remain for the duration of the Paralympic Games as well. It is expected to attract about 8000 visitors per day.

Built for the purposes of entertaining VIPs, the pavilion is also available for anyone who enters into the Olympic Park. The top floor of the double-story constructions will showcase the latest models and the lower floor will have future mobility exhibitions and events with BMW-sponsored athletes.

The 800sq m site of the pavilion will be situated above the Waterworks River, between the Olympic stadium and Aquatics Centre. As seen in the image above, river water will be used to cool the building before cascading down in a ‘water curtain’ back into the river. Unsurprisingly for a brand like BMW, sustainability is at the heart of this project.

BMW is providing 4000 vehicles throughout the event to transport athletes and Olympic officials to and from various locations. Although the exact makeup of the fleet, that includes Minis, BMWs and Rolls Royces, has not been officially announced, the use of electric, hybrid and clean diesel technology will ensure that it produces an average of less than 120g/km of CO2.

The image below shows the pavilion by night.

 Source: Car Magazine

Abdullah Al Ketbi is the owner of Dubai’s Alain Class Motors and what could very well be the best supercar dealership in the world. Abdullah gave Top Gear access to this extraordinary showroom filled with the world’s most rarified supercars where a Ferrai FF is tucked against a F430 Scuderia, which is nuzzling into a Versace edition Murciélago. Turn around and you’re staring at a Reventon – Lamborghini’s most expensive road car ever – Ferrari 458 Italia, Maybach 57S and Mercedes C63 AMG Black.

Abdullah says that Alain Class Motors has “five people full-time to wash and wax as the cars get very dirty outside and the cheaper ones need cleaning two or three times a day.”

And by cheaper he, of course, means ridiculously expensive. Braving the 30 degree weather outside is a Mercedes SLS, a brace of Porsche 911s, a genuine Shelby Mustang GT 350, a triplet of Porsche Panameras, a Lamborghini Gallardo, a Hummer H1 and a Baja-spec V8 dune monster. “We also need two people full-time to park them. It is a very hard job.”

The dealership is running out of space to house these magnificant vehicles and will be moving into bigger premises. “We have five places in Dubai and Alain at the moment, but we need space. This is 4,000 square feet, the new one will be 10,000. Business is good,” comments Abdullah.

View some of the supercars found at Alain Class Motors in the gallery below:

General Motors has recently launched the production model of the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the next chapter of the re-introduction of the Camaro. The spiritual seccessor to the Z28, the production model was launched at the company’s assembly plant in Ontario.

Under the hood, the vehicle is powered by a supercharged 6.2 litre engine that produces 580 hp (432 kW/588 PS) and 556 lb-ft (754 Nm) of torque. It is mated to either a six-speed manual or automatic transmission. When equipped with an automatic transmission, the model can accelerate from 0 to 96km/h in 3.9 seconds before reaching a top speed of 296km/h. With the six-speed manual, acceleration time is 0.1 seconds slower and top speed is 290 km/h.

Kevin Williams, president and managing director of GM of Canada, commented that ”This is an exciting new chapter in the ongoing revival of the tremendously popular Chevrolet Camaro. The new 2012 Camaro ZL1 further demonstrates the flexible capabilities of the award-winning Oshawa Assembly Plant.”

The Camaro ZL1 has a price tag of $54, 995 which includes destination charges.

Source: World Car Fans

Watch the footage in the video below:

Source: Autoblog

Autogespot takes the saying ‘Dog is man’s best friend’ to a while new level when the picture above was snapped in the US of a dog sitting in the front seat of a Bugatti Veyron. 

The supercar with a $2 million price tag was parked on the curb on a street in West Hollywood, California. Not an unusual sight in Hollywood after all, what was spotted was the driver’s large Golden Retriever, sitting upright, left alone inside the vehicle. It is likely that the driver who must have taken a few minutes to run an errand unexpectedly with his fury friend in tow felt he could leave him chilling in the front passenger seat. Unless of course this is a common ocurrance.

Let’s hope the dog showed some appreciation for being transported in such a supreme car and didn’t get bored and start chewing on or scratching the expensive interior.

Source: Motor Authority

This year Mopar will be celebrating 75 years since its name was first trademarked (a combination of ‘Motor’ and ‘Parts’) with the unveiling of four new vehicles at the Chicago Auto Show next month. Mopar has evolved to become synonymous with performance parts for Chrysler and Dodge as well as amp’d-up specialty package vehicles, vehicle service and maintenance.

The first, and only one that will be sold turn-key, is the ’12 Mopar 300 with only 500 being built and sold for $49, 700 each.  While offering no more power than a standard 5.7-litre V8-equipped 300, the ’12 Mopar does benefit from a new final-drive ratio of 3.91:1 that drops its 0-60 time in the low five-second range, as well as a significantly stiffer suspension, more grip on the tyres and brake system upgrades.

The exterior is painted black with striping that appears across the ’12 Mopar’s sides and around its rims. The wheels are 20-inch, 8-spoke forged aluminum rollers painted Gloss Black with Mopar center caps. Mopar says that interior is equally dark save for accents of Mopar Blue.

Each vehicle sold will  come with a special box of goodies that includes Mopar-branded key fobs and merchandise; proof of the vehicle’s exact manufacture date and number built; and a sketch of the car signed by its designer.

The remaining three anniversary special editions include the 2013 Dodge Dart ‘GTS 210 Tribute’, 2012 Fiat 500 Stinger and 2012 Mopar Jeep Compass ‘True North’. 

The Dodge Dart serves to pay homage to the quintessential muscle car while showcasing how Mopar’s extensive range of appearance and performance parts will be for the new Dart when it goes on sale.

The Fiat 500 ‘Stinger’ is welcomed into Fiat’s custom fold.  Its 1.4-litre MultiAir engine receives an unspecified bump in power thanks to a cold-air intake and cat-back exhaust. Higher-spec performance brakes clasp down on larger cross-drilled rotors behind a wider set of 17-inch Abarth Hyper Black aluminum wheels with wider 205/40R17 performance tyres.

Lastly, The Jeep Compass ‘True North’ has been given a 2-inch lift kit to better accommodate its 16-inch matte black wheels fitted with BF Goodrich All Terrain tyres. The center stack is also modified with a custom pod housing pitch and roll inclinometer gauges.

Source: Autoblog

Licensed by the car manufacturers, the Click Car Mouse is a miniature near perfect replica of the real cars they’re modelled on. They are designed to a very high technical standard using only the highest quality materials. Most models are available in both wired and wireless versions.

CarBlog received the Range Rover Evoque Mouse and Mercedes Benz 300 SL USB Stick to test out. The Wireless Optical Evoque Mouse comes packaged with a nano receiver and battery. Once setup, the mouse can either be turned on (either with or without rear and headlights depending on how much battery you’re willing to use up) or off when not in use. It has a 10 metre range and adjustable high-res optical for 800dpi and 1600dpi.

After using it for a couple of hours, the Mouse slowly began to feel uncomfortable with the angled lines of the Range Rover not exactly conducive for the natural round shape of my palm. Sometimes, my finger would even get caught underneath the right hand side mirror. As a result, I would prefer a car with smoother contours – an Aston Martin DBS perhaps. However, it is important to be aware that my hands are smaller than most and may result in a different experience for someone else.  The mouse works optimally on a pad as wheels, unfortunately, do not move.

The USB Stick, with 4GB was much more appealing and it has already been put to use. It is small, light and fits perfectly into the free USB bag included in the packaging. When plugged into to the USB port in my laptop the headlights and rear lights light up.

price ranges between R350 – R500.

View other models in the Car Click range in the gallery below:

Due to its outstanding performance, raw beauty and exclusivity the Pagani Zonda is arguably one of the most favoured supercars ever built.  So whenever one has a near-death experience or worse, makes it to Zonda heaven, the reaction from car enthusiasts is always one of bereavement.

Unfortunately a recent event was reported of a Pagani Zonda, allegedly owned by one of the top executives at Dolce & Gabbana in Hong Kong, crashing near Tsim Sha Tsui. Local news reported that the driver lost control of the vehicle causing it to collide into a tree and then as if that wasn’t bad enough, into a traffic light. Fortunately the driver was not injured.

The photographs below are evidence of serious front and rear end damage with torn suspension and dangling wheels, however its hard to see if there is any major structural damage to the carbon fibre monocoque. News reports have since said the vehicle is not a total loss.

Source: World Car Fans

Watch Mike Spinelli as he drives the new Nissan Juke -R concept down in Dubai this week on Road Testament.

The Juke-R, first launched back in October, that caused some controversy among the Nissan executives, is a mashup of the Juke and the GT-R with an unusual distended body created to accommodate the advanced all-wheel-drive system, twin-clutch transmission and 3.8-litre twin-turbo 480-horsepower V6 engine.

View Mike in action in the video below: