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

Bentley gets efficient: 2014 Hybrid Concept to cut CO2 emissions by 70%

It seems even the manufacturers of super luxury cars are now cottoning on to the fact that big multi-cylinder, gas-guzzling engines are set to be a thing of the past. Bentley, no less, has announced that it will be going hybrid in the future, marking the occasion with the reveal of its Hybrid Concept at the upcoming Beijing Motor Show 2014. Quite incredibly, the technology looks set to slash the firm’s CO2 output from limousine levels to rates we’re more accustomed to seeing from a small supermini.

How Google's autonomous car navigates city streets

Google's self-driving car has been on the road for five years now, at various levels of autonomy. From the ease and relative serenity of California's arrow-straight highways, the car drove hundreds of thousands of miles with a greater level of concentration and mastery than the wandering attention spans of humans could accomplish. In 2012, Google shifted from the freeways to the cities, navigating a far more convoluted set of challenges: the slow-speed chaos that comes with any city, any suburb, any place with people and cars in it.

Frankfurt 2011: New Vauxhall Astra GTC (2012) debut

Vauxhall Astra GTC finally arrives at Frankfurt The Vauxhall Astra GTC (and its European equivalent Opel GTC) finally gets to go on public view at Frankfurt this week, a year after it arrived as a concept at Paris. Based on the more prosaic five-door Astra, the GTC carries over just about nothing except the door handles although it still conspires to look like a slightly squashed, butch version of its sibling. The Astra GTC is a decent looking effort from Vauxhall – as is the regular Astra – designed to take the fight to cars like the Scirroco.