3m Marine 55509 6in Clean Sand Disc P150 50/bx on 2040-parts.com

Petrolhead spiders cause Mazda recall

Mazda has had to recall 42,000 vehicles in the US after it emerged that a species of spider had been weaving webs in fuel vent hoses, increasing the risk of fuel leaks and fires. The yellow sac spider’s curious domestic activities cause a build-up of pressure in the evaporative fuel vent that – in theory at least – could result in a cracked fuel tank and therefore an increased risk of fire. This isn’t the first time that the Mazda 6 has received the unwanted advances of a gas-guzzling arachnid, either – three years ago Mazda had to recall over 50,000 cars for precisely the same reason.

Happy New Year! Our Top 12 Car News stories of 2012 – month by month

Happy New Year to one and all from all of us here at Cars UK. We take a look back at the top car news story on Cars UK for every month of 2012. As it’s New Years Day 2013, it seems the right time to take a look back at the top car news stories of 2012.

MINI almost reveals the production Paceman

It’s almost certain the production ready MINI Paceman will debut at Paris in September now MINI has released a set of lightly camouflaged photos. The MINI Paceman – which started as the Paceman, became the Countryman Coupe and is now back to being the Paceman – looks set to debut at the Paris Motor Show in September. As is MINI’s wont, they’re starting to ramp up a bit of PR for the 2-door Countryman Coupe by letting loose a few photos and letting a handful of ‘safe’ car journalist loose on a quick test.