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

Will the Toyota Prius plug-in cost much the same as a normal Prius?

Toyota Prius plug-in - only around £2.5k more than a regular Prius? Toyota has managed to corner the market in hybrid cars over the last decade after its remarkably prescient decision to focus on ‘Eco’ cars long before the mainstream cottoned on to the changing mood of governments – and car buyers – to the impact cars have on wallets and the environment. We won’t drag out our usual objections to the ceaseless quest for pointless ever-lower CO2 emissions, but we will instead commend the Prius for being a remarkable transport appliance, one which – if driven in a certain manner – can produce remarkable feats of economy and emit pleasingly low levels of the stuff that does real harm – NOx and Particulates.

Smokin' video: Ken Block carves up France's l'Autodrome in new Gymkhana run

Rally star and DC Shoes purveyor Ken Block has delivered another piece of wild driving with his latest Gymkhana video--this time carving up the high-banked track at France's Linas at l'Autodrome. If you can dream it, Block can do it--180-degree and 360-degree turns and figure eights in a custom-built, all-wheel-drive Ford Fiesta. There's even a shower of sparks at the end.

Escort Live: Crowd Sourcing for a Good Reason

It seems like yesterday we brought to your attention the technology Escort unveiled that coupled electronic counter-measures and social crowd sourcing in the war against speed traps and revenue generation. Yes, we speak of the Escort Live ticket protection app that connects your smart phone with others who then identify, mark and alert you to impending speed traps. Well, it wasn’t yesterday but little more than a year ago that Escort unveiled it at the 2011 SEMA show.