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

Lexus LF-CC promises an appealing Lexus IS: Paris 2012

Lexus has given their LF-CC Concept a public airing at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, a preview of the 2013 Lexus IS. The new Lexus GS has proved that Lexus can build a car with a green halo and offer it with styling that isn’t from the beige school of car design. And now the 2013 Lexus IS looks to be heading the same route.

New Mercedes SL 400 replaces SL 350

The new Mercedes SL 400 (pictured) replaces the old SL 350 It’s a little over two years since the latest Mercedes SL arrived, and Mercedes has now decided to add a little zest to sales by dropping the old SL 350 and replacing it with a new Mercedes SL 400. The new SL 400 gets its power from the new E400 which means a twin-turbo 3.0 litre V6 with 328bhp and 354 lb/ft of torque – 26bhp and 81 lb/ft more than the old SL 350 – enough to let the SL 400 scoot to 62 mph in 5.2 seconds – 0.7s better than the 350 -= and on to a limited top speed of 155 mph. The new SL 400 has to make do with Mercedes tried and tested 7-speed auto – despite a new 9-speed now being available in Mercedes’ arsenal – which gives the SL 400 official economy of 38.6 mpg and emissions of 172g/km – not that you’ll come close in the real world.

2014 Jeep Cherokee delayed?

Chrysler Group late today took the unusual step of postponing a planned media drive of the 2014 Jeep Cherokee scheduled for early next month but vowed that "vehicles will still be in showrooms in September." The media event -- in which waves of national and foreign journalists were to gather in Seattle between Aug. 8 and 14 to drive the Cherokee for the first time -- was delayed until at least the first half of September, according to an email from the automaker. "Over the last couple of weeks during final quality and durability testing, we have discovered the opportunity to further improve powertrain calibration" in the Cherokee, the company said.