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

The Britalian Job: MINI remakes the Italian Job for London 2012

MINI has done a remake of the Italian Job – dubbed the ‘Britalian Job – to celebrate the London 2012 Olympics. MINI always turns up interesting promo videos (not always good, but always interesting) so with BMW sponsoring the London 2012 Olympics it’s no surprise they’ve had their camcorders out. The result is something MINI are calling the ‘Britalian Job’, an homage to the classic 1960s Italian Job with the original Mini and starring Michael Caine and Noel Coward (and Benny Hill), although in truth it’s more like an homage to the later version with Charlize Theron.

Electric car sales DOWN 20% in 2012 – time to scrap subsidies for EVs?

The SMMT are reporting that sales of electric cars in the UK have fallen by 20 per cent in the year to date (2012). Despite every green evangelist proclaiming that electric cars are the way to save the planet from imminent doom, UK car buyers obviously disagree. Despite a taxpayer bribe of £5000 to buy an over-priced electric car, car buyers have not exactly taken to the EV in droves.

Kia Quoris is production name for equally daft Kia K9

Kia has decided that its range-topping take on the BMW 7 Series should enter the market as the Kia Quoris. We can understand why Kia made the decision to seek a name for its new range-topping saloon for markets outside South Korea. After all, Kia K9 has a distinctly ‘pooch’ feel in the West (not to mention Dr Who’s sidekick), and chuck in the Korean predilection for eating man’s best friend and you have a PR problem along the lines of the Mitsubishi Pajero in Spain.