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

Beanz Meanz More Eco-Friendly Future Fords

THE car industry is full of interesting and unusual business partnerships, but this latest tie-up between Ford and Heinz promises to be one of the more intriguing. Far from seeking to produce 57 varieties of any particular new Ford model, the two firms are exploring the use of tomato fibre to develop a sustainable composite materials for use in vehicle manufacturing. For example, boffins believe that dried tomato skins could become the wiring brackets in future Ford vehicles or the storage bin a customer uses to hold coins and other small objects.

Skoda Octavia for under £11k

Skoda Octavia for under £11k If we told you a place where you could grab a brand new VW Golf for £10,995 it’d grab your attention, right? And if we told you that not only was it a brand spanking new Golf, but it came with alloys, touch-screen stereo with CD changer, AirCon, electric windows and electric door mirrors, would that make it even more appealing? This brand new Golf is powered along by a perfectly decent 101bhp, 1.6 litre petrol lump which, although not the pick of the range, is a perfectly good lump with acceptable performance and economy.

Brian Wilson on the Beach Boys' car songs

Brian Wilson, the musical giant behind so much of the Beach Boys great music, sang at the Petersen gala in Los Angeles last week, and there were plenty of songs about cars and drag racing in the mix. "We're going to do a series of car songs because this place has a lot of cars," Wilson announced before leading his 10-piece band into "Little Deuce Coupe," "409," "All Summer Long" and "Shut Down." The band played to a packed house at the museum's annual fundraiser. Wilson's set was surely the most entertaining in the Petersen's 15 years of fundraising galas.