1963 Corvette Alternator #1100628 "3a14" 37 Amp on 2040-parts.com

Hands-free car phones 'should be banned'

THE USE hands-free mobile phones while driving should be banned. This is the view of road safety charity Brake that says four in ten drivers (38%) admit to using hands-free phones in the car despite research that shows talking on a hands-free system is just as dangerous as using a hand-held mobile phone. Drivers who use a mobile phone while driving are four times more likely to be involved in a collision that causes serious or fatal injuries.

Watch the Audi Sport Quattro tear up the back roads

Audi revealed its 700-hp Sport Quattro concept at the Frankfurt motor show in September; the car pays homage to the classic rallying Sport Quattro from the 1980s. On Monday, the automaker uploaded a video of the upcoming vehicle to celebrate 100,000 Facebook likes on its German social-networking page. The video shows the Quattro whipping and gripping through a forest/mountain stage.

Fiat unveils new 900cc TwinAir two-cylinder engine

Fiats of old used to feature noisy two-cylinders with a fetish for overheating, yet the Italians are at it again, this week releasing details of their new TwinAir two-cylinder 900cc engines. You can see how it works in our video below. The new engines, the first in a series of two-cylinders by the Italians, are designed to trump all other downsizing efforts. Headline figures from the 83bhp twin are 23% more power than the regular 1.2 four-pot and the same as a 1.4 16v - yet with 30% less consumption.