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

2012 European Car of the Year shortlist announced

The shortlist for the 2012 European Car of the Year award has been announced today. There were 35 cars on the original list, but the first round of voting from the 59 jury members (including CAR Magazine’s editor Phil McNamara, and our European correspondent Georg Kacher) has whittled the list down to just seven. They are… • Citroen DS5• Fiat Panda• Focus Focus• Opel (Vauxhall) Ampera/Chevrolet Volt• Range Rover Evoque• Toyota Yaris• Volkswagen Up There will now be a second round of test drives, before the European Car of the Year jurors submit their scores and a winner is announced live at the Geneva motor show on 5 March 2012.

Honda P-NUT Concept at LA

The Honda P-NUT at the LA Motor Show This is another of those ‘Lets see what we can make’ type concepts with probably precious little chance of being made. But the Honda ‘Personal-Neo Urban Transport’ – or Honda P-NUT – does make for an interesting micro city car concept. The P-NUT is a three-seat (which sounds great in principle, but all 3-seat cars – McLaren F1 included – are a pain for the driver to get in and out) concept with masses of angular lines and glass, designed to be offered with one of three powertrains – a petrol, petrol-electric hybrid or pure EV.

Ford leads Consumer Reports list of Detroit 3 picks

Ford Motor Co. dominates a special list of Detroit 3 vehicle recommendations by Consumer Reports in its February issue. The magazine normally recommends cars in its April issue.