Arias Pistons 12.5:1 Compression 82mm Bore Honda B-series on 2040-parts.com

Toyota drags down new-vehicle quality average; Ford leads Detroit 3 gains

Dragged down by Toyota Motor Corp., the quality of new cars and trucks sold in the United States slipped slightly this year--the first time since 2007, according to a study released Thursday. But Detroit's automakers--helped by Ford Motor Co. and some of the smoothest new-model launches ever--have matched or surpassed Asian and European rivals in initial vehicle quality for the first time, based on the closely watched J.D.

Citroen DS3 DSport 150 Review & Road Test (2010) Part 2

Citroen DS3 Road Test With the DS3 Citroen has got just about everything right (well, apart from a short-lived, poor-taste anti-retro advert or two) from the cool, funky and incredibly contemporary exterior to the equally cool – and very upmarket feeling – interior. True, our car has a chunk of extras- including some upmarket leather – which make it feel more premium, but even without the extra toys this is a stunningly good-looking car, inside and out. In fact the DS3 is so appealing to the eye it’s the only car this year – apart from the new Jaguar XJ – where we’ve had people knock on the window begging for a look.

Mercedes SLA Roadster looks likely

As car manufacturers start to look with fresh eyes at smaller, cheaper cars, reports from Germany confirm that Mercedes is close to committing to the SLA, a small Roadster to be based on the next generation A-Class platform. The original SLA concept was shown at Detroit in 2000, and aimed to slot in beneath the SLK. But at that time Mercedes didn’t have a suitable platform on which to base the car, and the project was shelved.