The good oil: Electric supercar emerges

Nissan's Infiniti Emerge-E Concept electric supercar. Photo / Supplied

The Emerge-E concept electric supercar, which comes from Nissan's luxury arm Infiniti, will take centre stage at next week's Geneva motor show, where its curves will be compared to those of the Ferrari 458 and McLaren MP4-12C. It has already been called "more organic-looking" than the Lexus LFA, Audi R8, and Lamborghini Gallardo.

But will its green drivetrain deliver the same performance? Power is expected to come from a range-extender set-up, where a petrol engine kicks in to recharge the electric motor's batteries, similar to the Volt from GM.

We are the world

A Volkswagen Beetle owned by a United States county sheriff's department became an improvised pursuit vehicle - at about 30km/h. The beetle won.

Tennessee's Carter County Deputy Shane Watson was leaving the courthouse when a man reported a pick-up truck being driven erratically.

Watson jumped into the VW bug and soon caught up with it. The VW is decked out as a police car but used as a promotions vehicle for Watson's role as a school resource officer. The deputy turned on the car's lights and siren, but was ignored.

Watson overtook the driver and flagged her down. She said she had drunk half a litre of vodka with her prescription pain pills.

Focus fashion

Two British designers have produced elegant pieces using parts from a 2012 Ford Focus.

Judy Clark made a dress and a biker jacket adorned with car keys, radio and dashboard components, seat covers, a speedometer and red tail-lights.

Katherine Hawkins created a necklace using dials, springs, buttons, seat materials and instrument panel switches.

Sexy? Not me

US race driver Danica Patrick has asked media to stop calling her "sexy" - after years of promoting her own sexiness.

Patrick told USA Today: "If there is a pretty girl, reporters don't know how to describe her other than being sexy. It has such a negative connotation to it. Why can't there be other words for it? Why does it have to be somewhat negatively twisted?"

Patrick was featured in the 2008 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, and has appeared in racy ads for her sponsor GoDaddy.com that also played up her looks. She has also made several "sexiest" lists, including one compiled by Victoria's Secret. Patrick's big break came in her first Indy 500 appearance, when she became the first woman to lead the race. She finished fourth.

Kids Kombination

A United States DIY shop, Instructables, created a Volkswagen Kombi bunk bed. It will cost the handyman about US$500 ($597) in materials but will be arguably cooler than what's available in other shops at twice the price. The bed is up top and the Kombi's interior doubles as a playhouse.

Teens go against low-toll trend

The road toll in New Zealand last year was the lowest for decades.

It was a similar situation in the United States, where traffic deaths were at their lowest level since 1949. But the number of deaths of drivers aged 16 and 17 in the US rose significantly, from 190 in 2010 to 211 last year.

The states with the highest increase in teen driver deaths were Florida, Texas and North Carolina.

Testing times for French motorists

All motorists in France will need to carry a breathalyser kit under new rules coming into force on July 1. The law will apply to all drivers, even if they are just passing through the country. Failure to comply carries a penalty of $20.

Cheap, single-use breathalysers which cost between $2 and $4 will satisfy the requirements, and will be made available from British ferry and tunnel terminals for crossings to France.

The new law is designed to cut down on drink-driving by ensuring that every motorist has the ability to test their blood-alcohol level before getting behind the wheel.

French motorists are already required to carry a warning triangle and a fluorescent safety vest in case of emergencies.

Jags hit road to celebrate history

Long before Jaguar won Le Mans five times, it was called Swallow Sidecar, making sidecars like the one pictured here. It maintained the name Swallow when it began producing ornately turned-out coupes like the Austin-Swallow, Wolseley-Swallow and the pre-war speedster known as the SS-100 (the SS standing for Standard-Swallow).

It wasn't until after the war that company head Sir William Lyons swapped the SS tag for Jaguar.

This year is the 90th anniversary of the Swallow Sidecar company and the Jaguar Heritage Trust is hosting a "Swallow to Jaguar" drive between Coventry and Blackpool.

The eight-day event begins on September 2 and is open to any of the marques under the historic Jaguar umbrella, including Swallow, SS, Lanchester and Daimler.