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

Volvo plans to polish its image with styling, high-tech engines

Volvo's brand image is stuck somewhere between "premium" and "luxury," but the Swedish automaker aims to move further upscale with a fresh design language and a new generation of vehicles powered by more fuel-efficient engines. New mid-sized and large models will begin arriving in 2014 based on Volvo's lightweight SPA platform. The vehicles will use Volvo's coming generation of smaller four-cylinder engines.

2014 Corvette Stingray rated at 455 hp

The 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray's 6.2-liter LT1 V8 engine has been rated at 455 hp at 6,000 rpm and 460 lb-ft of torque at 4,000 rpm -- the highest standard-power rating ever for the Corvette. An available performance-exhaust system boosts the rating up to 460 hp and 465 lb-ft of torque. Chevrolet says the new LT1 with standard exhaust has 25 more horsepower than the current Corvette's base LS3 6.2-liter engine, which is rated at 430 hp, and 41 lb-ft more torque compared with the 2013 model's 424 lb-ft.

2009 Mazda 3 Review

Cars UK [rating:4.0] The new Mazda 3 arrives in UK Car Showrooms in May Still based on the Ford Focus platform, the Mazda 3 has taken on a chunk of design cues from the RX-8 and has, in our eyes, become probably the best looking car in its class. With its new, stiffened structure, the Mazda 3 promises to be a cracking drive, and Mazda has managed to improve fuel economy by 15% and reduce emissions by nearly 20% thanks to stop/start and terrific aerodynamics. But is all this enough to dethrone the Focus?