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

Making famous friends at the Petersen museum

Celebrities, they're just like us! And aside from the public adulation and fame, plus our sneaking suspicion that the 12 or so really well-known car guys can actually afford their lavish hand-picked choices without so much as entering a PIN or presenting a letter of credit, celebrities bicker and fret over the cars with which they'd fill their dream garages. Difference is, when they fill their dream garages, people pay attention.

2012 Fiat Panda starts at £8,900

The new Fiat Panda starts at under £9k The 2012 Fiat Panda will cost from £8,900 for the POP 1.2 8v 69 CV, rising to £12,250 for the Panda Lounge 1.3 MultiJet 75 CV in the UK. The 2012 Fiat Panda was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show last Autumn, and looks as though it’s going to continue the Panda tradition of simple motoring at affordable prices with the news that the starting point for the new Panda will be £8,900 for the entry-level Panda POP 1.2 8v 69 CV. Even the top-of-the-range Panda Lounge 1.3 MultiJet 75 CV comes in at a not too unreasonable £12,250, with another eight models in between the two extremes offering variations of trim and engines to suit sensible urbam motoring.

Toyota sets Nurburgring record... for fuel economy

WHATEVER else you might say about Toyota, it seems the brand has a sense of humour. Driving enthusiasts will hand their (petrol)heads in shame after Toyota completed the 12.9-mile German track at an average of 698mpg. The embarrassingly pedestrian time of 20 minutes and 59 seconds was set by motor journalist and Japanese car expert Joe Clifford, and since Toyota is the first to shame itself with a fuel economy run at the heart of performance car testing, it automatically sets a new efficiency record.