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

Urban gridlock costs economy £4.4bn

GRIDLOCK in urban areas is costing car-commuting households £4.4 billion a year, according to a report. Congestion in London accounts for £2 billion of the overall annual cost, the report by traffic information company Inrix and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) showed. The report was compiled by studying congestion in the UK's 18 largest urban areas.

Porsche Macan out playing in the desert ahead of an L.A. debut (video)

Porsche Macan (pictured) out playing in the desert ahead of an L.A. debut With Porche’s baby Cayenne – the new Porsche Macan – due to make its public debut in production guise at the Los Angeles Auto Show next month, Porsche has been busy building up interest in what should be their biggest seller in the years to come. There’s already a microsite for the Porsche Macan where Porsche has been busy teasing those who are interested with snippets of information and disguised photos, but now we get the Macan out frolicking on the sandy desert dunes in Dubai, the sort of video you’ll see from any car maker with a vehicle to show off that has off-road pretensions.

Renault Fluence launched

The new Renault Fluence is being built for the Turkish, Russian and Romanian markets Renault are aiming to make the Fluence the most attractive car in its class (their words), and say that beneath its ‘Strong, sporty interior’ it features a ‘comfortable cabin with loads of technology’. So there. The Fluence comes in at the top of the C segment in terms of size – it’s just over 15′ long – and comes pretty well equipped.