Engine Harmonic Balancer Pioneer 872018 on 2040-parts.com

Drivers 'don't care' about engine oil

JUST 4% of drivers choose which engine oil goes into their car during a service, according to new research. The remaining 96% either don’t care or simply go with whatever a mechanic recommends, leading to calls from a leading engine oil manufacturer and the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) for raised awareness of the benefits of high-grade engine lubricants. In a study of 1,000 drivers, conducted on behalf of Mobil 1, 65% said they wouldn’t know what oil viscosity their car would need to take, while 69% added they had no idea which brand of oil their car manufacturer recommends.

Mitsubishi i MiEV Electric car launches in Japan

Mitsubishi i MiEV electric car launched in Japan at around £20,000 Until now, electric cars have been very much an oddity. The laughable G-Whiz and the Tesla Roadster are interesting in their own way, but unless you want to look like Noddy’s best friend (G-Whiz) or are happy to have a second-rate Lotus Elise at three times the price (Tesla), there wasn’t much to appeal to the normal car buyer. But it’s changing.

Win a Porsche Boxster and help fight cancer

To help fund research for the Lymphoma & Leukemia Society, a raffle called Drive Away Cancer is offering a 2010 Porsche Boxster or $55,000 as the grand prize. The Drive Away Cancer campaign is organized by Omar Dawood, a survivor of stage IV hodgkins lymphoma who was diagnosed at age 14. He is now a physician and was recently nominated Man of the Year by the Lymphoma & Leukemia Society.