MG's No 1 pride and joy

The car that gave British maker MG its maiden race victory nearly 80 years ago returned to the place of that success last Sunday. Old Number One, as the car became known, sped over the Blue Hills mine course in Cornwall, where MG founder Cecil Kimber drove it to victory in the Lands End Trial on April 11, 1925. Said Rob Oldaker, MG director of product development: "Seeing Old Number Oneback at the Lands End Trial is a great reminder of MGs motorsport success over the 80 years."

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Areas of old spaces

The chairman of Auckland City Council's transport committee is Richard Simpson. The manager of Auckland City Council's parking services is Chris Geerlings. Simpson wants the movements of four-wheel-drive vehicles in the city restricted to improve transport efficiency. One solution that he agrees would be controversial would be to shrink parking spaces to ensure four-wheel-drives can't fit. But there are no designated parking spaces left in Auckland to shrink. That's what Geerlings told this column in January. "There haven't been for around five years," he said. "They are now called parking areas." Council replaced the single-stand metres with a pay-and-display system. "In theory, you could now park five or six cars in what would have been the old parking space, as long as each one shows a pay-and-display ticket," Geerlings said.

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Jag lagging behind

Ford is looking at injecting another US$935 million ($1.3 billion) into its Jaguar unit in an effort to get the ailing British brand back into the black, reports London's Sunday Times. The paper says that Ford will go ahead with the financial rescue mission despite Jaguar's US$1.1 billion ($1.6 billion) loss in 2003-04. How Ford intends to restructure Jaguar has yet to be decided. One suggestion is that it will switch Jaguar assembly from Britain to America to take advantage of currency differences. But Ford officials have denied such a plan exists.

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Big Three cleaning up

America's Big Three carmakers are about to sign an agreement to trim emissions of global-warming greenhouse gases, says John Efford, Canada's Minister of Natural Resources. General Motors, Ford, and DaimlerChrysler confirmed they had reached a voluntary deal but neither side offered details. Ideally, it means the Big Three will build more fuel-efficient vehicles for domestic and global use.

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Dying for a sleep

Research shows that about 350 people die on British roads each year in sleep-related accidents. The finding is one of the reasons for a safety campaign reminding British drivers about the dangers of driving tired. It is being supported by restaurants and hotels up and down the country offering discount meals and room rates. Transport Minister David Jamieson said: "The campaign aims to reinforce the importance of taking regular breaks. A short break can literally mean the difference between life and death."

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We are the world

Matthew Porter, 25, was arrested in a Texas golf course carpark and charged with possessing marijuana. Porter didn't have the drug on him - but his dog JD sure did, reports the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. A police search of Porter and his pals came up empty - until JD emerged from an ornamental pond with a large plastic bag full of marijuana in his mouth. Tail wagging, the labrador dropped the bag at Porter's feet. Porter had tossed it into the pond as police approached.