Serpentine Belt-micro-v At Premium Oe V-ribbed Belt Carquest K060984 on 2040-parts.com

BMW confirms its hiring of former Opel product chief Frank Weber

BMW AG confirmed it has hired Frank Weber, former head of product planning at General Motors Co.'s Opel/Vauxhall unit. Weber will become head of vehicle architecture and integration at BMW, a spokesman for the premium carmaker told Automotive News Europe today. The spokesman did not give details of when Weber will start at BMW.

Stress and strife of the school run

SCHOOL RUN WARS are rife, with parents prepared to squabble over parking spaces and argue with their children, according to a survey. As many as 23% of mothers and fathers admitted blocking another parent in with their vehicle and 14% owned up to cutting someone up, the poll of more than 3,000 motorists by Auto Trader showed. Also, 16% of parents have argued with other mothers and fathers on the school run and 53% have had rows with their children.

Call for reform over road repair funding

FUNDING patterns mean most road maintenance is being carried out in "less-efficient, cold and wet" times, a report from a Government spending watchdog has said. The current pattern of funding, combined with the need to spend money within the financial year, means that most maintenance work goes on between September and March, said the report from the National Audit Office (NAO). It went on: "Although this is less disruptive for road users, it is less efficient than carrying out the work at other times of year because materials can be more difficult to handle in cold and wet conditions, and daylight hours are shorter." The report went on: "As a result of the additional funding for emergency repairs, which is made available at the end of the financial year, almost all highways authorities need extra capacity from the market at the same time, which makes it less likely that they will get value for money." The NAO report said there was a "lack of predictability" over road spending adding that historically, local highway authorities spent more revenue on maintenance, but were now carrying out fewer routine activities such as clearing gullies which are essential to preventing water seeping into roads' sub-structure.