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

EV maker Coda trims staff

Not much more could go wrong for electric-car maker Coda, which has struggled to sell its four-door EV in the United States since officially launching it here in March. But Web reports, first seen at www.plugincars.com, say the company laid off 50 employees, or 15 percent of its workforce, last week, mostly in the sales and marketing departments. Efforts by Autoweek to contact Coda have not been successful.

Skoda Octavia (2013): first official pictures

This is the new 2013 Skoda Octavia. For its third generation, the Octavia gets its cleanest, most efficient engines yet and the full gamut of tech upgrades available on the new Mk7 Golf - all wrapped up in a more sober, Czech-style package. The new Octavia is also lighter than the old car and, with the arrival of the mid-sized Rapid, has grown from family hatch proportions to fight the Ford Mondeo and Vauxhall Insignia.

Suzuki Wagon R and Mazda AZ Wagon

Suzuki and Mazda have released one of the most important Japanese domestic market vehicles in recent years with the fully redesigned Suzuki Wagon R and Mazda AZ Wagon. Although relatively unknown outside the domestic market, with numerous tax breaks and low CO2 emissions, the kei-car (micro mini) is the largest and the most competitive segment in Japan, making up six of the top ten best-selling cars this year. The previous generation Wagon-R was the best-selling domestic passenger car for the last five consecutive years.