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

Road Safety Group Asks If Driving Test Is Fit For Purpose

THE Institute Of Advanced Motorists (IAM) is asking the thorny question of whether the standard driving test is still fit for purpose. This comes on the back of a new poll from Vision Critical and the IAM, which uncovered that 30% of young drivers (aged 18-25) admit to breaking the law during their first few years on the road. Furthermore, despite spending many weeks learning to pass the test, 68% of younger drivers feel that they need to improve while 25% admit to crashing.

2012 Ford Focus ST gets 297bhp

Those clever chaps at SuperChips have given the 2012 Ford Focus ST a bit of an ECU tweak to deliver 297bhp and an extra 85lb/ft of torque. When we reported last week that WTC outfit Arena had in roped Ford’s tuner of choice, Mountune, to give the new Ford Focus a makeover, we were a tad disappointed to discover that they were tweaking the rather journeyman Focus Zetec S. That meant the Zetec S got 200bhp – a handy jump – but we bemoaned the fact that they hadn’t fiddled with the Focus ST to give us a car to fill the void left by the absence of a Focus RS in the current iteration of the Focus.

Interior Motives China Conference 2010: Day 1

Despite Europe being grounded due to volcanic ash, the third Interior Motives China conference got underway in Beijing with a record number of delegates and speakers – proof, as if it were needed, that this event is now one of the most important in the global car design calendar. This year's theme was 'New brands and the search for a design identity', and among the audience were young Chinese designers keen to learn more about international car design techniques, as well as veteran western designers hoping to gain a deeper understanding of the market they are creating vehicles for.  Session 1: The Market for Design Edward Wong, Director of Transportation Design at China Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), set the mood for the conference in his long, flowing 'Chang San' robe (very traditional Chinese attire). He opened the conference and invited panellists to share their views on what China's needs are and explore what makes the market so unique.