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

Audi rolls out A3 lineup at the Los Angeles auto show

There's something about German automakers and model proliferation—it seems that if there is a niche to be filled, no matter how vanishingly small, a vehicle will be devised to fill it. If no niche is extant, they'll simply invent one, which is how we wound up with the unprompted X6. Audi's new A3 lineup, which debuted at the Los Angeles auto show and will begin its 18 month-long North American rollout spring 2014, seems incredibly rational by comparison.

Lexus sales rising strongly in Europe – up 33 per cent in Western Europe

The new Lexus IS (pictured) is leading Lexus’s sales growth in europe There’s lots to like about the Lexus range (even if we would like to see proper gearboxes proliferate), and it seems buyers across Europe are getting more and more enamoured of Toyota’s luxury brand. Lexus are reporting soaring sales in Europe so far in 2014, with sales up by 25.4 per cent over the same period in 2013 (and by 33 per cent in Western Europe) and the Lexus IS leading the way. Lexus IS sales were up to 6,923, followed by the Lexus RX SUV and the compact Lexus CT, with even the massively expensive Lexus LS chipping in 265 sales in the first six months of the year.

Mini reveals John Cooper Works Concept at Detroit auto show

Today at the Detroit Auto Show Mini debuted the new 2014 John Cooper Works Concept. The JCW (as the cool people call it) is the performance version of the Mini, and the debut of the concept included a rock band and impressive amount of smoke courtesy of a fog machine. The JCW concept was decked out in traditional John Cooper Works style, and that meant an exclusive color scheme with red color accents over Bright Highways Grey paint, and 18-inch light alloy wheels.