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

Bid to cut car insurance premiums

THE COMPETITION WATCHDOG is proposing to impose a cap on replacement vehicle costs following motor accidents as part of a clampdown to help cut premiums for all drivers in the £11 billion private motor insurance market. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the cap on charges passed to the insurer of the driver who is at-fault in an accident for the cost of providing a replacement vehicle to the non-fault driver, would "more closely reflect the costs incurred and remove significant inefficiencies". The watchdog has previously found that the "complex chain" of claim costs following an accident collectively inflates premiums by as much as £200 million a year.

Volvo V60 Plug-in Diesel Hybrid: Geneva 2011 catch-up

Volvo V60 Diesel Plug-in Hybrid Geneva   We’re probably going to be playing catch-up for the next few days on stuff we didn’t manage to cover on the press days at Geneva. And this – the Volvo V60 Diesel Plug-in Hybrid – is one that should definitely have made it in to our coverage earlier. We’re not big fans of the hybrid route – especially in small cars – but when it’s used to produce a car that is more economical and more powerful, we start to get it.

Hyundai Veloster Turbo gets 400bhp

Hyundai in the US has created a Veloster for this year’s SEMA show – the Hyundai Velocity – with a 400bhp Cosworth makeover. SEMA show cars are always extreme and always completely over the top, but they do show just what can be done with mainstream cars when car makers are let off the leash of marketing constraints. This year Hyundai is out playing, and as well as creating a Genesis Coupe with Cosworth power they’ve also taken the new Hyundai Veloster Turbo and created a 400bhp monster SEMA car.