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

New Volkswagen Golf is European Car of the Year

The new Volkswagen Golf Mk 7 is the European Car of the year for 2013, polling twice as many votes as the second place Toyota GT86 (and Subaru BRZ). Last year we had the Vauxhall Ampera voted as European Car of the Year, a verdict we called ‘Completely Stupid’. And in 2011 it was the Nissan LEAF that took the Car of the Year Gong.

Bentley SUV: Redesign already under way

Bentley SUV already being re-thought It seems the reception for the EXP 9 F – the Bentley SUV ‘Truck’ – has already got Bentley designers back to the drawing board for a redesign. The Bentley SUV at Geneva – the EXP 9 F Concept – was a real let-down. It was as if Bentley’s designers had been given a single line brief from history and tasked to make Ettore Bugatti’s criticism of Bentleys as ‘The World’s fastest trucks’ come to life.

Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) starts European sales

The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (pictured) now on sale in Europe The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV landed officially at the Paris Motor Show in 2012 – preceded by a number of concepts before Mistubishi was happy – as a plug-in hybrid from Mitsubishi. Mitsubishi had promised the Outlander PHEV would go on sale in 2013 so, by the skin of their teeth, they’re starting to roll it out in European markets with the Netherlands up first followed by the Nordic countries – and the UK somewhere down the list. With 12,000 orders for the Outlander PHEV in Europe already, Mitsubishi are assured of a decent level of sales for their PHEV SUV, although those sales are driven by the daft tax breaks on offer for ‘green’ cars more than anything else.