Traditionally the dashboard in the standard road car has been made up of buttons, switches and dials; uniformly identifiable in all makes of cars and only slightly modified by manufacturers.

This useful consistency is somewhat counterbalanced by most vehicles having subtly different layouts which tend to only become apparent at inopportune moments when driving an unfamiliar vehicle - such as when trying to locate the central locking button with all your passengers waiting impatiently in the cold.

Aside from these inconveniences, and maybe not knowing what some of the warning lights on a dashboard mean, the system works – but technological advances have been at a minimum.

Despite what is undoubtably very clever and complex engineering, the Double (or Dual) Clutch Transmission (DCT), has a mixed reputation with drivers and has not achieved the level of ubiquity many thought it would.

Sitting in the middle ground between an automatic and a manual transmission, the simplest way of describing their operation, is that they’re an automatically operated manual transmission – achieved by using two clutches.

In television and film there are rare occurrences of cars transcending their human character counterparts and becoming the defining image of said film or tv show. The 1968 Ford Mustang GT 390 from Bullitt, the 1969 Dodge Charger from the Dukes of Hazards, Cameron’s Dads Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder from Ferris Buellers Day off and even the 1981 De Lorean DMC – 12 from Back to the Future.

These cars have become iconic pop culture images and the appetite for classic cars is still strong, with over half a million classic or historic vehicles in the UK - in fact the UK government estimates the classic car industry to be worth of up to £5.5bn. However, is the classic car in danger of becoming extinct on our roads?

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, apparently. Those of us scrambling around looking for late stocking fillers would beg to differ of course. Indeed, for the time pressured Christmas shopping is something to be endured as opposed to enjoyed. Yet as Cliff Richard quite rightly pronounced; it’s a time for giving and for getting – meaning for all the stress, subtle hints could very well lead to some form of reward for the Scrooge like too.

For car enthusiasts there are no shortage of gifts certain to bring festive cheer this yule tide. A quick internet search will propose everything from customised air fresheners, to Scalextric if you are feeling particularly nostalgic. In a bid to sort the Lambos from the Gremlins however, we have highlighted some of the best presents for petrol heads…

Motion sickness is debilitating and can throw travel plans into chaos. Sufferers are beset with bouts of nausea so troublesome they leave them unable to drive – or be driven – for an extended period of time. Worse still technology has been unable to assist in combatting the problem…until now.

When Mercedes revealed the Vision Urbanetic, the world got another glimpse into the future of automotive travel.

The world’s first hydrogen powered train has entered service in Germany, providing clean and quiet energy for a section of line 100km long. But as with so many alternative fuels, it raises the question of what took so long for a seemingly better alternative to get its chance.