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

How to be an EV Evangelist

It was called a webinar but it seemed more like EV evangelism to us. Electric car advocacy group Plug In America spent an hour this week on the Internet telling 91 true believers how to spread the message of the kilowatt to those who still believed internal combustion was the only way to go. “People need to be convinced that they will like a plug-in vehicles,” said Plug In America board member Chad Schwitters online.

Smart Fortwo Lightshine launches

Yet another Smart Limited Edition - the Smart Fortwo Lightshine You have to hand it to Mercedes – they don’t give up on Smart (or Maybach – another expensive departure). They keep churning out new cars (well, endless new limited editions, anyway) despite sales that seem to keep falling. Last year (2010) saw Smart sales in the UK fall by 8.5% and their sales last month (December 2010) were a woeful 57% down on December 2009.

Ford Iosis X concept

With an abundance of small SUVs entering the European market, Ford has been conspicuously absent from this segment, something that the Iosis X will hope to quell. Using the same 'kinetic design' theme as the Iosis concept from last year, the Iosis X puts a coupe-like window graphic and roofline upon thick sills, similar in this respect to the Opel Antara concept. But while Opel will have their model on the road imminently, those wanting the Ford equivalent will have to wait until early 2008 for the forms to be toned down and put in showrooms.