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

Boris planning war on diesel car drivers – London Mayor wants drivers of diesel cars to pay more

Boris wants to charge diesel cars an extra £10 to enter London We’ve long banged on about the nonsense of basing the cost of motoring on the Co2 emissions of cars, and it seems the London Mayor, Boris Johnson, also realises that Co2-based taxation has led to a real pollution problem. As we reported as far back as 2010, petrol cars – certainly before the introduction of Euro 6 emissions recently – are far cleaner than diesel cars when it comes to the sort of stuff that really matters – NoX and particulates. And the problem has been exacerbated by basing car taxation on Co2 emissions as lower Co2 levels have been much easier for car makers to achieve on diesel engines, which is why diesel-engined cars now account for around 50 per cent of all cars sold in the UK.

BMW i8 Spyder concept car (2012) first pictures

BMW will chop the top off the i8 hybrid at the 2012 Beijing auto show - and it's unveiled photos of its new i8 Spyder convertible supercar a few weeks ahead of the expo in China. It's a sign that Munich will offer a convertible i8 alongside the tin-top coupe when BMW i8 sales kick off in 2014. This one sports a two-section folding roof, converting the i8 from coupe to roadster in a few seconds.

Seat completes industry's largest solar panel installation

SEAT HAS completed construction of the largest solar panel installation in the automotive industry. The huge 'Seat al Sol' array at the firm’s Martorell plant outside Barcelona is the size of 40 football pitches and generates 15 million kilowatt hours of power per year courtesy of the reliable Spanish sunshine. The electricity produced is enough to account for a quarter of the amount needed to build a year’s allocation of Leons, reducing the factory’s energy bills significantly and saving 7,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.