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

Crackdown on bogus claims helps insurance costs fall by 12%

CAR INSURANCE premiums have plunged at a record rate of 12% year-on-year amid a tougher clampdown to combat bogus motor accident claims which add to the costs of everyone's policies. The typical quote for annual comprehensive car insurance cover was £568 in October, marking a 4.5% drop on July and a 12.4% fall on a year ago, according to the latest AA Insurance premium index, which takes the average of the five cheapest quotes on the market. This is the biggest annual slide that the AA has on its records, which go back to 1994, and marks a sharp turnaround for motorists following a period of strong increases, with premiums rising by more than 40% just two years ago.

Viper Curtain Call: Final Snake rolls off the line in Detroit

It's the end of the line for an icon. Clad in custom bronzed-gold paint, the final current-generation Dodge Viper rolled off the assembly line on Thursday at a Detroit factory. The last one was tailored to the tastes of a loyal Viper owner, D'Ann Rauh, who with her husband, Wayne, owns more than 40 Vipers.

One Lap of the Web: BMW M3 gets color-corrected, a gentleman's GT-R and the Porsche 959

We spend a lot of time on the Internet -- pretty much whenever we're not driving, writing about or working on cars. Since there's more out there than we'd ever be able to cover, here's our daily digest of car stuff on the Web you may not otherwise have heard about. -- Oh dear, BMW: Perhaps you shouldn't have made two M3 color selections sound so similar?