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

Jaguar XFR & Jaguar XKR – UK Debut

The Jaguar XFR - together with the Jaguar XKR - gets a UK début at MotorExpo 2009 in June The XFR and the XKR will both début at the London MotorExpo 2009, which takes place in Canary Wharf from 8-14 June. Which is probably the best venue Jaguar could come up with (apart from perhaps Salon Prive or the Top Gear Show) as we don’t have a Motor Show any more. Still, the plus is that MotorExpo is a free entry event, which helps, and Jaguar are expecting around 350,000 visitors, which is not too shoddy.

Demise of kei cars on the horizon?

The kei car has long been a staple of the Japanese automobile industry and its car culture. Too diminutive for Western markets, the tiny cars and trucks are a strong influencer of design in Japan. Now, as The New York Times reports, the Japanese government has hit kei cars with increases in sales tax, gasoline prices and has reduced the kei car tax break introduced to make the cars popular in the first place by 50 percent.

The scramble for scarce tires

North American automakers are struggling with a nagging shortage of tires, caused in part by tire plant closings and rising demand for low-volume specialty tires. Automakers are paying much higher prices -- double-digit percentage increases from a year ago -- as tire makers gain pricing power. "We have been bombarded from every side for additional tires, and we can't keep up," said David O'Donnell, Continental Tire's vice president of original equipment in the Americas.