Forespar 906066 Marelon 1 1/2 Inch Marine Boat Water Strainer on 2040-parts.com

Top Gear to do ‘Economy’

Don’t think for a minute that we’re going to lose the supercar stunts we know and love, and see them replaced by the charms of a Kia Cee’d economy run, but Top Gear, in common with the rest of the Beeb, is having its budget cut – apparently. Andy Wilman, who is the brains behind TG (and its producer) together with Jeremy Clarkson, has been bemoaning the budget cuts planned for the show on the TG website. He said: ‘No point in moaning about that.

Mark Vaughn: We’ll always have Vegas

There were a few bare spots on the floor of the Consumer Electronics Show this year, spots that in previous years had been jammed sardine-like with myriad Taiwanese makers of Hello Kitty knockoff cell phone cozies and electronic barking dogs, but the show this year was nonetheless pretty well attended. Besides, for those working their way upstream through the aisles like so many digitally trained trout, the empty spots left by exhibitors that pulled out were like refreshing mountain meadows or little piazzas in crowded Italian cities. Show management stocked the open spots with cushy couches, too, on which many a jet-lagged showgoer snoozed.

One Lap of the Web: Willys CJ2 rat rod, Blade Runner sketchbook and vintage Alpine A110 footage

-- Even if you don't remember every nuance of the plot of the 1982 film Blade Runner, or even which of the myriad versions of the film you saw, its powerful visual images and bizarre-but-plausible technologies have likely stuck with you. From glowing umbrellas to the unforgettable flying "spinners," Blade Runner was fascinating look at a future that wasn't. Although technically the film was set in 2019, so we've got a few years for replicant technology, and Los Angeles smog levels, to catch up with fiction.