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

First Fisker Karma in the UK auctioned for £140k

First Fisker Karma in the UK auctioned for charity The extended range Fisker Karma arrived at last year’s Paris motor show, and now the very first Karma to arrive in the UK has been auctioned in aid of charity and raised a bid of £140,000 at the Pratham UK Gala held at Camden’s Roundhouse. The altruism demonstrated by offering appealing cars for charity auctions is to be commended, especially from a young - and relatively impoverished - outfit like Henrik Fisker’s eponymous company. Yes, there’s a bit of publicity to be garnered for the Karma, but good on Henrik for offering up the first Karma to charity.

Mazda SkyActiv technology goes on offer to raise funds

Mazda is looking to license their SkyActiv Technology to raise capital (CX-5 with SkyActiv pictured) Mazda are predicting losses for the current financial year of £750 million and are looking to sell their SkyActiv technology to raise cash. Mazda isn’t having the best of times at the moment, despite an impressive range of cars that are getting more interesting with Mazda’s SkyActiv technology, and are predicting that they will post a loss of around £750 million for the current financial year. There are a variety of reasons for Mazda’s financial predicament – including the strength of the Yen and the production problems after the Japanese Tsunami – but this is the fourth year in a row Mazda has posted losses.

SAIC wins LA Auto Show Design Challenge

China's SAIC, the parent company of Roewe and MG brands (yes, Morris Garages and what used to be Rover), took the top spot in the LA Auto Show Design challenge with its Mobiliant Concept, beating other contestants like BMW DesignworksUSA, Subaru, Mazda, Changfeng, Quoros, and others. The theme for this year's challenge at the LA Auto Show was "Biomimicry & Mobility 2025: Nature's Answer to Human Challenges." Entrants were directed to propose design concepts that integrated the concept of biomimicry into transportation concepts. Quite a challenge and quite an open theme, especially when you consider that last year's theme was pretty straightforward: "Highway Patrol Vehicles in the Year 2025." In 2012 the Subaru SHARC concept took the top prize.