Arias Pistons 12.5:1 Compression 82mm Bore Honda B-series on 2040-parts.com

Partners make the perfect co-driver

CELEBRITY heart-throbs such as George Clooney and Cheryl Cole have come second-best in a recent survey of drivers who were asked for their perfect partner on a long road trip. Six out of 10 drivers in the UK said they would choose their regular partner, whether that person is their husband, wife, friend or workmate, 61% of drivers asked said they would prefer their usual driving buddy to George Clooney or Cheryl Cole. Surprisingly, 11% of drivers surveyed by Halfords said they would be happiest with just a satellite navigation system for company on a long road trip.

Time-capsule DeLorean with only 309 miles emerges

We see time-capsule cars on a pretty regular basis, but they seldom happen to be proper time-travel cars as well. Of course we're talking about the DeLorean DMC-12, an automobile whose several thousand examples were believed to be largely accounted for. So imagine our surprise when we heard about a DeLorean recently found in a storage bay with delivery mileage on the clock and a mild layer of dust on its stainless-steel body.

Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) starts European sales

The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (pictured) now on sale in Europe The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV landed officially at the Paris Motor Show in 2012 – preceded by a number of concepts before Mistubishi was happy – as a plug-in hybrid from Mitsubishi. Mitsubishi had promised the Outlander PHEV would go on sale in 2013 so, by the skin of their teeth, they’re starting to roll it out in European markets with the Netherlands up first followed by the Nordic countries – and the UK somewhere down the list. With 12,000 orders for the Outlander PHEV in Europe already, Mitsubishi are assured of a decent level of sales for their PHEV SUV, although those sales are driven by the daft tax breaks on offer for ‘green’ cars more than anything else.