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

Car Design News Contest

As one judge, Geert Jan Schellekens, Principal Automotive and Industrial Designer at SABIC Innovative Plastics, said; "From several hundred entries to 20 finalists in a day's time - what could have turned out to be a cumbersome process, if not a bureaucratic nightmare, actually became an intensive yet fun session with many intriguing and interesting interpretations of the contest brief - fuelling some lively discussions!" Another strong impression from judges was also of the variety of design entry and the effort that had been put into them, as Dale Harrow said: "I'm very impressed with the standard, and particularly with the diversity of entries to the contest". Derek Buckmaster,Global Market Director, Body Panels & Glazing for SABIC Innovative Plastics, said: "I was surprised by the depth of thought which the entrants had put into their designs to meet the diverse needs of the three 'milenniumites' described in the design brief. The designs displayed numerous approaches to meeting the environmentally-friendly and light-weight goals." All designs were considered relative to the Assessment Criteria a critically important part of the contest, created to ensure as much fairness in the process as possible and detailed in the Contest part of Car Design News.

1975 JC Whitney catalog: A bonanza of aftermarket Volkswagen goodies

Back before there was the Internet, or even big car-parts chain stores, there was the JC Whitney catalog. Printed on cheap, pulpy paper and featuring tens of thousands of tiny, hand-drawn illustrations, these thick books gave me many hours of enjoyment in the early 1980s, as I fantasized about how I'd modify my incredibly sketchy and hooptified '58 Beetle. Now I've picked up a 1975 JC Whitney catalog, and the Volkswagen section is even better than I remembered!

Average cost of car insurance down 12.5%

The average cost of insurance is now 12.5% lower than it was a year ago, thanks to new EU rules on gender equality. That’s according to over four million quotes analysed on Confused.com. On Bing: see pictures of male drivers Women and car insurance – all the facts The rules, introduced at the end of 2012, said a person’s gender shouldn’t affect their insurance premium.