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

Industry pulse: NHTSA administrator David Strickland talks distracted driving

Editor's note: In an exclusive interview with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration administrator David Strickland, Melanie Batenchuk of Be Car Chic asked about distracted driving and the agency's combined efforts with the Department of Transportation to curb this bad behavior. David Strickland has been championing safer, distraction-free driving since the beginning of his tenure at NHTSA in January 2010. Strickland has been working tirelessly toward this goal alongside stakeholders such as Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, private-sector executives, automobile manufacturers and safety advocacy groups.

Lotus Esprit James Bond car up for auction

The Lotus Esprit Submarine (pictured) from the James Bond 007 film is up for auction James Bond and cars go together like bacon and eggs and, with the exception of the 007 Aston Martin DB5, the Lotus Esprit ‘Submarine’ car from the Spy Who Loved Me is probably the most iconic Bond car to have hit the big screen. Piloted in the film by Roger Moore – with Mrs Ringo Starr, Barbara Bach, at his side – the underwater version of the Esprit, one of six used in the film, was affectionately know to the crew as ‘Wet Nellie’ and actually piloted for the underwater scenes by former SEAL Don Griffin, who worked as a test pilot for the creators of the Esprit Submarine - Perry Oceanographic. After filming ended it was sent of to a storage unit in Long Island, ten years rent was paid upfront but, when the 10 year rent period ended, no one stepped forward to claim the contents at they were sold off for a song to a local couple.

2015 Volkswagen Touareg price and specs – costs from £43,000

The 2015 Volkswagen Touareg (pictured) costs from £35k Volkswagen revealed a facelift for its biggest SUV – the VW Touareg – at the Beijing Motor Show in April which got the usual tweaks of titivated front and back and a new set of alloys to make it look fresher. Also in the mix, sadly, was the end of the very grunty 4.2 litre V8 diesel (and the hybrid in the UK) with VW deciding to concentrate on two flavours of V6 diesel and adding in new technology like post-collision braking, coasting and low-resistance tyres with air suspension to the mix. Now, with the 2015 VW Touareg due to go on sale on 27 August, Volkswagen has revealed prices and specs for the new Touareg.