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

2013 Nissan LEAF updated

Nissan has updated the LEAF EV in Japan for 2013 with better range, less weight and a new LEAF S entry-level model. Revealed in Japan – but likely to come to the UK from 2013 when the LEAF starts rolling out of Nissan’s Sunderland factory – there are significant upgrades to the powertrain which result in both less weight and better range. Nissan has had a play with the electric powertrain and made it both smaller and lighter with a new motor that uses 40 per cent less dysprosium (a rare earth metal) than before, and comes in 30 per cent smaller and 10 per cent lighter, and a new streamline battery case and a few other tweaks drops the LEAF’s weight by 80kg.

Pregnant women 'more likely to crash'

BEING pregnant significantly increases a woman driver's chances of having a serious car crash, research has shown. During the second trimester of pregnancy – weeks 14 to 26 – the risk of being involved in a road accident requiring hospital treatment rose by 42%, a Canadian study of more than 500,000 pregnant women found. In the three years before getting pregnant, the women between them had an average 177 crashes per month.

Who's Where: Maximilian Missoni joins Volvo as exterior design chief

Maximilian Missoni has been appointed exterior design chief at Volvo Cars. He will report to exterior design director Fedde Talsma and to Thomas Ingenlath, vice president design. 34-year-old Austrian-born Missoni joins the Swedish carmaker from Volkswagen where he worked from 2002, first working in Wolfsburg as a designer before being appointed senior exterior designer at the company's Advanced Design Center in Potsdam.