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Can the government mechanically force you to wear your seatbelt? [w/poll]

The National Highway Traffic Administration is considering the use of ignition interlocks in vehicles that would require the seatbelts of occupied seats to be fastened in order to drive the car, Automotive News reports, four decades after Congress moved to prevent manufacturers from installing them in cars sold in the US market. Following a transportation bill passed last year that lift some of the restrictions on seatbelt interlocks, automakers such as BMW are considering the benefits of using them in future cars. Now, before you go crying about your lost freedom, keep reading.
BMW said in an October 2012 petition that the use of seatbelt interlocks would allow the company to make lighter and more spacious vehicles, if the devices could be used in lieu of unbelted crash tests. The crash test has required the addition of bulky safety features, such as knee bolsters, that aren't as necessary when occupants are buckled up, especially when considering the dizzyng list of safety features that come standard on today's cars. Europe, which has a higher rate of seatbelt use than in the US, doesn't perform unbelted crash tests on cars sold there.

BMW i3 takes to the track, circles it in a way you don't expect

So, who wants to see a BMW i3 race around a track. That's what we thought. It's not a long video, but it is entertaining, and the way the urban EV does a 'loop' at second 25 certainly caught out eye. The i3 is scheduled to go on sale in the US later this year and will start at $41,350. The diminutive electric vehicle has a top speed of 93 miles per hour and can hit 62 mph in 7.2 seconds. We found it a hoot to drive, but we're not sure if hardcore BMW performance fans will totally 'get' this car's performance. The i3 is great at what it does, but it wasn't born to hit the race track. After seeing this video, though, we want a crack at it, skinny wheels and all. You can get a behind-the-scenes glimpse here, where Chris Neff writes, "The i3 basically turns in on itself. This is one sharp turning radius, take a look at 24 seconds into the video. We were actually trying to get the i3 to do doughnuts, but the computer would not let the rear brake loose, still, you can see how it held and how sharp we were turning....about 27 times in a row." Watch all 49 seconds below. And wonder with us if whatever aerial device was used to get the shot that ends at four seconds in was destroyed just after the video cuts away.

Toyota sells off Tesla shares, too

The incredible rise of Tesla's stock price has done little to now stop two major shareholders from ditching their stake in the American EV manufacturer. First, Daimler, parent company of Mercedes-Benz, ditched its four-percent stake, and less than a week later, Toyota is doing the same thing, selling off an undisclosed bit of its Tesla investment.
The move comes as Toyota winds down sales of the RAV4 EV, which gets its batteries and electric motor from Tesla at the company's Fremont, CA factory.
"We have a good relationship with Tesla, and will evaluate the feasibility of working together on future projects," Toyota spokesperson Kayo Doi told Bloomberg via email.