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

Mini factory celebrates its 100th birthday

A bastion of the British car-building industry, Mini’s ‘Plant Oxford’ in Cowley, Oxford celebrates 100 years of building cars today (28 March 2013). Currently responsible for producing the second-gen BMW Mini range, Plant Oxford has been the birthplace more than just trendy city cars: it’s stamped out over 11.5 million cars since 1913, including legend like the Morris Minor and Frogeye Sprite, and clunkers like the Morris Marina. It also contributed to the war effort by repairing damaged RAF fighter aircraft during the Second World War.

Mercedes SLK 55 AMG and Ducati Streetfighter 848 in Bologna

Mercedes SLK 55 AMG and Ducati Streetfighter 848 set for Bologna The Mercedes SLK 55 AMG and the Ducatti Streetfighter 848 – both finished in ‘Streefighter Yellow’ – are set to appear at the Bologna Motor Show. It’s almost exactly a year since the announcement that Mercedes AMG and Ducatti were to work together to promote both the AMG and Ducatti Brands. But we’ve not really see a lot of evidence of their collaboration so far.

Call for ban on in-car hands-free phones

Road safety charity Brake is calling for a blanket ban on in-car hands-free phone systems. Using a hand-held phone while driving is already illegal in the UK, so a proposal to prohibit even hands-free kits would completely eradicate calling from behind the wheel. On Bing: see pictures of people using mobile phones while driving 1 in 3 use mobile phone behind the wheel A decade on from when the mobile phone ban was introduced, Brake is asking the government to assess its policy on all forms of telephone communication while driving.