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

Cars, Culture and the City

When you think of American cities associated with the car it is Los Angeles of course that leaps first to mind, thanks mostly to Hollywood, and Detroit second. But New York turns out to have been vital in the history of car design, as I found researching an exhibition Cars, Culture and the City at the Museum of the City of New York as guest curator over the last few months, working with the museums curator architecture and design, Donald Albrecht. The show has just opened, on March 25.

Daimler’s Car2Go Smart car sharing dropped in the UK

I sight you won’t see from tomorrow – a Car2Go Smart on a UK road Need a car for a quick trip across town and don’t want to use public transport of a taxi? Then a car-sharing club is a good way to go. There are several choices on offer for those wanting a car for a quick trip but only one – Car2Go, run by Daimler and Europcar using Smart ForFours – will allow you to pick up in one place and drop of at your destination.

How safe are new minicars?

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) recently tested a total of 11 minicars in its relatively new small-overlap crash test, and the Chevrolet Spark was the only one to earn an Acceptable rating. The small-overlap crash test was instituted in 2012 with the goal of better replicating real-life car crashes, most of which don't follow the pattern of traditional government crash tests. Instead of a car hitting a stationary object with 100 percent of its front making contact, the small-overlap test examines how a car behaves in a frontal impact at 40 mph where only a quarter of the car's front hits an object.