New Alpine At The Nurburgring

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All new Alpine 
 
The all new Alpine sports car, an all new rear wheel drive two-seater which should be on the market by 2016. Alpine are working alongside Caterham to make an original design from the ground up, although the earlier model being based on a Lotus.
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Could trackable GPS cannons prevent road deaths and catch criminals

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According to USA Today, 1 in 3 deaths caused by high speed chases are the deaths of innocent bystanders – a shocking figure that US authorities are now seeking to change with new police car GPS cannons.

GPS cannons fire a GPS tracker onto the car being pursued, allowing the police to track its location without a car chase. Preventing any need for dangerous driving and allowing criminals to be caught safely.

High speed car chases look exciting on the big screen but in reality, they’re very dangerous and put lives at risk every year. They risk the lives of police, the suspects and innocent bystanders and can cause expensive vehicle damage.

So is it time to stop the chase and implement GPS cannons?

How do police car GPS cannons work?

In Florida and Iowa in the USA, a new cannon called Starchase is being tested. During a car chase, police fire a ‘bullet’ containing a GPS tracker at their target.

Once the tracker has been fired from the police car and is connected to the vehicle in pursuit, police can back off and track the vehicle from a distance – without the need for high speed.

In fact, it’s already been a success in the US. Police can track the car’s whereabouts and arrest them shortly after – allowing them to catch criminals without any damage to police cars and without any bodily harm to the people involved.

The reality of implementing GPS cannons

Unfortunately, the reality is that these GPS cannons are expensive. Very expensive in fact, but far less costly than a human life.

Each cannon costs around $5,000 to install on a police car and each round or ‘bullet’ costs $500.

However, this is less expensive than the damage that would be caused to vehicles in the event of a crash.

And while they’re currently being tried and tested in several American states, it could be a while before they’re rolled out throughout the whole of the US – and even the UK.

Do you think they’d be worth the money? Would you like to see police car GPS cannons used in the UK? Let us know what you think below! 

Unicom Insurance are UK based regulated specialists of Motor Trade Insurance. You can connect with Unicom Insurance on Google+ to keep up to date with all the latest news and stories from the Motoring Industry.

 

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Fast and Furious star Paul Walker RIP

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At first it was a hoax, then within hours the truth came to light, Paul Walker star of the Fast and Furious films had been in a car crash with his friend and his new Porsche Carrera GT. This story isn't here to detail the crash, rather it's a celebration of his great car career and his love of cars in general. RIP Paul Walker, the Fast and Furious films will never be the same without you, fond farewell Brian Spilner (Brian O Connell).

If one day the speed kills me, do not cry because I was smiling

'attributed to Paul Walker' 

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Jethro Bovingdon Interview: MotorTrend onDemand

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Earlier this month we spoke to Jethro Bovingdon about his new show coming to Motor Trend. This petrol head is starring in Head to Head and Ignition. Jethro started back in May 2001 as a road tester at EVO magazine, he then went on to work for Drive Tribe, and CAR Magazine amongst others. He has now moved on to Motor Trend! 

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The Kia CEED 2019 CRDI 2 Review & Road Test

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The Kia Ceed has come along way as has the Kia brand, this car is ready to take on the German premium hatchbacks.

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Dacia Pop Up Shop Westfield Stratford

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Dacia are certainly going all out this year with getting their no nonsense car brand out to the public, they are following some of the big brands like Supreme and Kanye West and are opening their first ever pop-up store at Westfield, Stratford.

Starting November 23rd and running till the 3rd Dec, that's right its already started, why not have a look?

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Golf R latest spy shots

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Image courtesy of Auto Car Golf R spy shots

 

Volkswagen is putting its foot down on dev with its 286bhp R version of the latest Golf the Mk7, the most horses ever put in a production VW Golf since its launch in 1974. The Golf R has been clocked at the Nürburgring, and also like a scene out of 'Forza 4', the Swiss Alps.

The Golf R is expected to be the last of the so-far confirmed new Golf models to appear in the showroom. An on-sale date of early 2014 has been mooted after a launch at the Frankfurt motor show in September.

The Golf R will be the cream followed by the GTI. The R packs a 2.0-litre TSI engine producing a healthy 286bhp with 280lb ft of torque, a 6 speed auto box with dual clutch, a new version of awd Haldex 5 carrying it from 0-62mph in just 5.0sec and limited top speed of 155mph, not bad considering it weighs only 1200kg.

It will be tuned, and still capable of around 40 mpg.

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Audi 2017 models to use Qualcomm snapdragon 602a processors

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It has been announced today that Audi is going to use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 602a processor in it's 2017 vehicle range, the Snap Dragon is the first infotainment chip by Qualcomm, the chipset is designed to meet the highest standards of the auto industry in order to give you the driver and passengers advanced control, connectivity, navigation, information, voice quality and ICE at a smartphone quality level. 

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Subcategories

Pa Project cars

Cars featured as planet auto cars currnetly Golf and Beetle

 

Northern Group of Motoring Writers NGMW 

Members of The Northern Group Of Motoring Writers