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

The Hidden Work of Design Consultancies

Most major car companies carry out most of their design work themselves, with dedicated design departments increasingly capable of handling every aspect of the design process. But few car companies do not use the services of external car design consultancies for some smaller projects, and many smaller car companies use such consultancies to supplement their more limited in-house design facilities on larger design projects. Throughout the world there are numerous companies offering these design services to car companies.

Chrysler races to upgrade its lineup

In a bid to improve its lineup before a fleet of new Fiat-based vehicles arrives in 2012, Chrysler Group is rushing new features and equipment into 15 reworked vehicles. The equipment, such as a Fiat dual-clutch, six-speed transmission and a new Chrysler V6, will boost fuel economy, improve driving dynamics and spiff up drab interiors, all areas in which Chrysler has fared poorly in consumer surveys. All the vehicles will be on sale by the first quarter of next year.

New Aston Martin V12 Vantage S quicker than Jaguar F-Type V8 S

The new Aston Martin V12 Vantage S (pictured) is Aston’s quickest car At the end of last month, as expected, and following the ending of production of the V12 Vantage, the new Aston Martin V12 Vantage S arrived. Aston proclaimed the new V12 Vantage S as the quickest production car they’d ever built (with the exception of the £1 million One-77) but declined to tell us exactly how quick it was. But now AML have finished playing with their stopwatch and declared the V12 Vantage S will get to 62mph in 3.9 seconds (0-60mph in 3.7s), an improvement of 0.3 seconds on the V12 Vantage and giving the V12 Vantage S the edge over the car we think it should be compared to – the new Jaguar F-Type V8 S.