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

Whiplash claim legal costs rising

GOVERNMENT attempts to reduce legal costs from whiplash injury claims seem to be failing. The average legal costs for small, whiplash-like third party injury (TPI) claims now stand at £2,500 per claimant, according to a report by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. The institute said this was a 15% increase since 2010 "when the Ministry of Justice introduced new measures which sought, in part, to contain legal costs".

Better Place Electric Car visitor centre opens

Better Place have opened a visitor centre in Israel to demonstrate their battery swap technology for electric cars Last October we wrote about a start-up company in Israel – Better Place – that had a new way forward for electric cars by taking the purchase of battery packs out of the equation, and was developing a system for ‘Battery Swap’ stations where electric car owners could drive in and swap their battery pack for a fully-charged one in a few minutes. That story first brought to our attention our favourite quote of last year – by Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn – who said “A hybrid is like a mermaid: if you want a fish, you get a woman; if you want a woman, you get a fish.” Which probably explained why Nissan – and its partner Renault – got involved with Better Place. Better Place aims to address the main concerns of electric car drivers by making the battery packs in electric cars ‘swappable’.

Spied: Porsche 911 GT3 RS

The mild redesign of Porsche's 911 range will get to the ultra-high-performance GT3 RS model, based on these spy shots. This prototype was nabbed making a cross-country U.S. dash.