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

Maeda named new Mazda design boss, replacing van den Acker

Ikuo Maeda is the new head of design at Mazda Motor Corp. The man who is credited with styling the Mazda's flagship sports car takes over for Dutchman Laurens van den Acker, 43, who has decided to leave the company "to pursue other interests," the automaker said in a statement today. Van den Acker, who joined Mazda in 2006, will remain at the automaker until April 10 to ensure a smooth transition for Maeda, Mazda said.

McLaren plan to make windscreen wipers obsolete

McLaren plan to make windscreen wipers obsolete Much of the ‘clunkiness’ in cars – stuff like wind-up windows and a cranking handle – have been made obsolete in cars as technology arrived to make things work better, but one thing that remains on modern cars from the dawn of the motoring age is the windscreen wiper. Invented by Mary Anderson in 1903 after she realised drivers of the first motor cars were having to lean out of the window in rainy conditions to see where they were going, it became a standard fitting on all cars within a few years. Windscreen wipers have certainly improved over the years as technology has developed, but they’re still basically a strip of rubber moving across the windscreen to clear rain.

1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta ‘Tour de France’ fetches £1.96 million

A 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta ‘Tour de France’ sold for £1.96 million as the star of R.M. Auction’s 2012 London sale. Star sale of the night in Battersea was a hugely desirable 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta ‘Tour de France’ by Carrozzeria Scaglietti which managed to reach £1.96 million (although a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Alloy Gullwing failed to sell at £2.4 million), but there were plenty of other lots reaching decent prices too.