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

Carlos Ghosn's automaker mantra: Go big or you'll go away

Size matters in auto company survival, Renault and Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn told an audience in Detroit on Tuesday. To cope with the escalating costs and scope of a global industry, successful automakers must complete a trifecta--be able to compete in every technology, every market and every segment, Ghosn said during a luncheon speech at the Detroit Economic Club “No 3 million-unit carmaker can make it,” Ghosn said, explaining why his Renault-Nissan alliance forged an alliance with Germany's Daimler AG. Competency in one or two of the three skills is not enough, and only very large companies can afford all three, he said.

Is the Jaguar XFR-S on the way?

Is the Jaguar XFR-S on the way (2012 XFR pictured) New reports suggest that the Jaguar XFR-S – a more powerful XFR with the output of the XKR-S – is close to production. Last summer we reported that a Jaguar XFR-S was being planned (actually, we also said a Jaguar XJR-S was in the planning too) in order to take the fight back to the Germans, with the latest iterations of the BMW M5 and Mercedes E63 AMG now offering more power than the XFR can muster. The idea of a more powerful XFR wasn’t just wild speculation (or an educated guess as to what Jaguar needed to do to keep in touch with German rivals) but was also based on Adrian Hallmark’s comments that it would be nice to take the power upgrades on the XKR-S and extend them to the XF.

VW Tiguan Match returns – costs from £23,245

The VW Tiguan Match (pictured) returns for 2013 Back in 2010, Volkswagen had a play with the Tiguan model lineup and replaced the Tiguan SE with a better equipped Tiguan Match. And history is now repeating itself. VW has decided, once again, to drop the Tiguan SE from the model lineup and replace it with the Tiguan Match which, this time, actually costs slightly less than the SE and yet boasts more equipment.