Dacco B81ns Torque Converter on 2040-parts.com

Cost of garage labour falling

THE AVERAGE labour rate at both franchised and non-franchised garages has fallen compared to 2012, according to new figures. An annual survey of 12,000 cases conducted on behalf of Warranty Direct has concluded that the average labour rate in 2013 is £74.70, a fall of 9.84% from £82.86 in 2012. Less encouraging is the overall trend of rising labour rates, with the average having increased by 33% over the last ten years.

Fords at SEMA – A Preview

Ford has the biggest display space of any manufacturer at SEMA – 27,000 square feet – and plans to pack it with every kind of truck, tuner and Transit Connect. Yes, this year at SEMA Ford will have ten customized Transit Connect small business haulers in a celebration it's calling “Vandemonium.” So far we have a picture of just of one of them, the “TC – Pentech,” a Transit Connect with two driving simulators in the back. Info on the other nine hasn't been released yet but suffice to say Vandemonium could make the Transit Connect the PC Cruiser of the new millennium.

Police ‘spitalyser’ to catch drug-drivers

Motorists who smoke cannabis before driving will soon find it harder to evade police thanks to a new device dubbed the ‘spitalyser’. The government is spending £120,000 rolling out the devices – also known as ‘drugalysers’ – across 11 police forces for a trial period. On Bing: see pictures of the spitalyser Drug-driving ‘drugalyser’ testing kit approved The spitalysers test the saliva of drivers suspected of being high on cannabis, and are expected to be announced by transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin this afternoon.