Carburetor Repair Kit Standard 1472 on 2040-parts.com

Top Gear: Skoda Yeti, Ariel Atom V8, Porsche 911 & John Bishop tonight

Top Gear Skoda Yeti Helipad We thought that Top Gear had kicked in to the start of a new series – Series 16 AB (that’s ‘After Boring’ Top Gear) – when we had the Three Wise Men Christmas Special and the preceding Top Gear East Coast USA Road Trip. But it was a trick; nothing more than an hors d’œuvre for the new series. But Top Gear series 16 does start tonight – 8pm BBC2 (GMT).

WINTER BREAKDOWN EXPENSE FOR USED CAR OWNERS

SOME VEHICLE components are nearly three times as likely to fail during the winter months as in the summer leading to potentially expensive repairs for the owners of older vehicles, according to Warranty Direct. The specialist insurer and warranty provider analysed 50,000 live automotive policies and found that ignition coils are 283 per cent more likely to fail between December and February than between June and August. Fuel injection pumps, thermostats and a number of electrical components are also more likely to suffer in the cold leading to an average winter repair bill of £408.60, the company has warned.

One Lap of the Web: The Economist talks cars, Maria Sharapova's Porsche and crazy bikers

We spend a lot of time on the Internet -- pretty much whenever we're not driving, writing about or working on cars. Since there's more out there than we'd ever be able to cover, here's our daily digest of car stuff on the Web you may not otherwise have heard about. -- Have you ever seen two motorcycles going wheel-to-wheel at 200 mph in the rain?