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

IIHS gives Camry, Prius v hybrid poor safety rating

Thirteen mid-sized cars have earned high marks on the insurance industry's newest frontal-crash test, but a pair of Toyota models tested fared worse than the rest. The so-called small overlap test involves crashing the front corner of a car into a barrier at 40 mph. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety devised the test to simulate a collision with a stationary object such as a tree or a utility pole.

Lotus City Car Confirmed

Lotus City Car At the Paris Motor Show back in September Lotus arrived with more ‘New’ cars than any other car maker – much to everyone’s amazement. There was everything from the mid-engined Lotus Esprit to the Rapide-challenging four-door supercar that was the Lotus Eterne. In amongst the supercar-fest – that included the aforementioned Lotus Eterne and new Lotus Esprit – was the Lotus Elite, a new Lotus Elan and a new new Lotus Elise, a total of five new Lotus cars designed to turn Lotus in to an East Anglian Aston Martin.

Infographic: How much clay do Ford’s design studios use each year?

Ford has offered an insight into its clay modeling processes with a series of videos and an infographic that charts the process involved in turning a designer's sketch into a full-size model. The infographic uses data taken from all of Ford's global design studios in 2012 to give an idea of how much clay is used in a year, plus how much paint and di-noc film is used to cover each model. Ford has also released a video that gives a behind-the-scenes look at the firm's clay modeling studio in Merkenich, Germany, including interviews with members of the modeling team.