Wix 42303 Air Filter on 2040-parts.com

May bids to build Mecanno motorbike

TOP GEAR star James May must be getting Meccano for Christmas because he is using the classic toy to build a motorbike and sidecar to race the Isle of Man TT circuit for a new show. The episode of his Toy Stories series, called The Motorcycle Diaries, sees May get to grips with a construction kit to try to build a vehicle capable of carrying him and co-star Oz Clarke around the 37-mile course. In previous episodes James May and his team have built a giant slot-car racing track, a full size Airfix replica of a Spitfire and a giant toy glider.

Design Essay: Are smart roads just around the corner?

In order to remain relevant, the car must constantly evolve. But while almost all attention focuses on four wheels, the roads that facilitate an automobile's progress have remained relatively unaltered since Eisenhower formed the National Highway system in the 1950s. With environmental concerns getting ever higher on the agenda, there is an opportunity to think outside the (metal) box and rethink the road, making it as smart as the vehicles and devices that travel upon it.

Will your next new car stop itself?

Last week in Park City, Utah, a group of us were discussing the chutzpah that some manufacturers have in charging hundreds of dollars for outboard mirrors that dip downward when the vehicle's placed in reverse. The consensus was, “Since the electric motors in the mirrors are already there, and the computers know the car's set to back up, it's only a line of code. A very expensive line of code.” The European Union seems to be thinking along the same lines.