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

The Britalian Job: MINI remakes the Italian Job for London 2012

MINI has done a remake of the Italian Job – dubbed the ‘Britalian Job – to celebrate the London 2012 Olympics. MINI always turns up interesting promo videos (not always good, but always interesting) so with BMW sponsoring the London 2012 Olympics it’s no surprise they’ve had their camcorders out. The result is something MINI are calling the ‘Britalian Job’, an homage to the classic 1960s Italian Job with the original Mini and starring Michael Caine and Noel Coward (and Benny Hill), although in truth it’s more like an homage to the later version with Charlize Theron.

Study: Hybrids safer in accidents, more dangerous to pedestrians

In the first analysis of its kind, the Highway Loss Data Institute found that drivers of hybrid vehicles are, on average, 25 percent less likely to be injured in a crash than drivers of conventional vehicles. Matt Moore, the data institute's vice president and author of the study, said weight was a big factor in its analysis. “Hybrids on average are 10 percent heavier than their standard counterparts,” Moore said in a statement on Thursday.

Saab: Vlad Rides to the Rescue

Vladimir Antonov rides in with €30 million for Saab's coffers It was always an odd move by GM, or the Swedish Government, or whoever it was that decided the deal  for Spyker to buy Saab could only go through if Spyker’s money man – Vladimir Antonov – stepped down. It’s understandable if you have genuine concerns about the credentials of a party to the deal, but taking Vlad out of the equation was an accident waiting to happen. Without Vlad there was no financial safety net for Saab.