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

Increase in crashes linked to mobile phone use

As many of us admit to taking selfies at the wheel, researchers have noticed a rise in the number of rear-end shunts on UK roads – despite many manufacturers now offering cars with collision avoidance systems that can brake automatically. According to new research by Accident Exchange, crashes involving one car hitting the back of another have increased by 7% in the last three years. Rated: self-braking cars that avoid a crash Nearly 1 in 10 admit to taking selfies at the wheel With each rear-end smash costing insurers £2,000 on average, premiums could rocket until driverless cars hit our streets.

One Lap of the Web: Packards -- Ask the man who knows way too much about one

-- For some light Wednesday reading, here's more information than you ever wanted to know about Packard. It includes the horrible neoclassics that plagued the 1970s, and the 1995 revival of the Packard name that attempted to stick a shortened rendition of the famous Packard grille in front of a 440-hp V12, all wrapped in a shape that looked like a melted Twix, as shown above. Our august associate editor Graham Kozak owns a Packard, so he could have filled us in on the details.

Peugeot Design Contest 2008

Carlos Arturo Torres Tovar from Colombia was last week announced as the winner of the 5th annual Peugeot Design Contest at the 2008 Mondial de l'Automobile in Paris. The 25 year old designer's winning 'RD' concept was chosen via an online internet poll and a competition jury headed by Peugeot's Managing Director, Jean Philippe Collin. This year's contest asked designers to "Imagine the Peugeot in the worldwide megalopolis of tomorrow" and to then design a car that could evolve with the cities of the future, while retaining the key values of the 21st century.