C.e. Smith 13511 1-3/8" Trailer Hub Kit Package 1-1/16" Stud on 2040-parts.com

2012 Ford Focus ST gets 297bhp

Those clever chaps at SuperChips have given the 2012 Ford Focus ST a bit of an ECU tweak to deliver 297bhp and an extra 85lb/ft of torque. When we reported last week that WTC outfit Arena had in roped Ford’s tuner of choice, Mountune, to give the new Ford Focus a makeover, we were a tad disappointed to discover that they were tweaking the rather journeyman Focus Zetec S. That meant the Zetec S got 200bhp – a handy jump – but we bemoaned the fact that they hadn’t fiddled with the Focus ST to give us a car to fill the void left by the absence of a Focus RS in the current iteration of the Focus.

Will Chrysler reload with another wagon?

Is Chrysler aiming to get some of its old swagger back by dusting off a recent gem with customizers? The Dodge Magnum wagon with its "gangsta" profile proved a sensation with tuners and urban dwellers when it arrived in showrooms in 2004. But it was quickly spiked when Chrysler hit the financial skids and restructured under bankruptcy a few years ago.

Storms batter Britain

THE MET OFFICE has issued a "red" weather warning for exceptionally strong winds in western parts of Wales and north-western parts of England, while the Thames is predicted to rise to its highest level in more than 60 years in some places. On the day dubbed Wild Wednesday, gusts of 108mph hit Aberdaron on the Llyn Peninsula in north west Wales, while 96mph winds were recorded off the south coast of England at the Needles, on the Isle of Wight. The Met Office has forecast 2.75ins (70mm) of rain by Friday in the already-sodden West Country - more than the region would normally get in the whole of February - with south Wales, western Scotland, Northern Ireland and other parts of southern England also expected to bear the brunt of the deluge.