Mercedes C300 C350 Full Smoked Mirror Light Overlays on 2040-parts.com

One Lap of the Web: Miniature mania, police-trimmed BMW Isetta and tweeting at automakers

-- Michael Paul Smith doesn't have a fancy camera. What he does have is a fuzzy beard, a lot of time on his hands, and the ability to create amazingly realistic scenes using scale-model cars and a handful of tiny model buildings. Smith's secret to bringing his nostalgic visions to life?

New Michelin Premier A/S with EverGrip tyres promise better grip when worn and 60,000 miles

New Michelin Premier A/S with EverGrip tyres (pictured) promise better grip when worn and 60,000 miles We all know that tyres for a car don’t seem to last five minutes, and every mile you drive from new makes the tyres less effective. But Michelin reckon they’ve turned that logic on its head with their new Premier A/S with Evergrip. Due to launch in the US in spring – and hopefully the UK and Europe later in the year – the Michelin Premier A/S with EverGrip has new tyre technology that actually improves grip as the tyre wears, and promises 60,000 miles of useful life.

Audi S1 at Paris

The Audi S1 will have a Paris Launch (A1 Wörthersee Concept pictured) It’s getting on for a year since we reported that – despite some saying it wouldn’t happen – Audi were planning at least a warm version of the A1 and had on the drawing board the Audi S1 to take on the MINI Cooper. So it’s not a shock that we hear Audi are planning on bring the S1 along to Paris for a reveal before getting the S1 on the roads by the second quarter of 2011. Expect the usual Audi S bits in the mix  - bigger wheels, fettled suspension, beefed-up brakes, body kit – and power in the S1 to come from the S/C turbo 1.4 TSI found in the VW Polo GTI, although the S1 may just get a tweaked version of the engine as befits its higher standing in the VW hierarchy with a bit more than the 178 horses the Polo GTI manages.