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

News watch March 2010: today's auto industry news

Tuesday 30 March 2010• Mercedes has dismissed claims that its Maybach brand is for sale, after reports in the Chinese media claimed Chinese car company BYD was considering a bid for the upmarket offshoot. BYD has also denied the claims (Reuters)• Toyota president Akio Toyoda has promised his company will listen more carefully to customers and react faster in a bid to regain credibility after the Japanese car manufacturer was forced to recall millions of vehilces over safety fears (BBC)• The Obama administration is expected to unveil its finalised fuel economy and tailpipe emissions through to 2016 this week, to coincide with the opening of the 2010 New York auto show (Detroit News)  Monday 29 March 2010• Toyota has agreed to licence the hybrid technology in the Prius to Mazda, which will combine the electric system with its next-gen Sky engines. It’s part of Mazda’s plans to increase the average fuel economy of its vehicles by 30% by 2015 (compared to 2008 levels) and it hopes to have its first hybrid vehicle on sale in Japan by 2013 (Mazda)• Ford and Chinese car company Geely have signed a stock purchase agreement that will allow the latter to acquire 100% of Volvo (along with related assets including intellectual property rights).

Survey reveals in-car climate clashes

CLIMATE change isn’t just leading to arguments in politics – it’s causing heat in cars, too, because it seems men and women simply can’t agree on what temperature to set. A new study from Kwik Fit has revealed that 52% of couples whose cars have air conditioning argue over what temperature to set it at, and it’s usually men who want it cooler than their female companions. And as many as 250,000 drivers across the country say their air-con preferences are so different to their partner’s that they simply have to keep the system turned off to avoid bust-ups.

A brief history of the 'Le Mans-style' start

The famous ‘Le Mans start’ Since the race’s inaugural meeting in 1923, tradition dictated a standing start. This later became known as a ‘Le Mans start’, and involved drivers lining their cars up along the pit wall in the order they qualified in. Racers would then have to stand on the opposite side of the track, and when the French Tricolor flag dropped the drivers would have to sprint to their cars, strap themselves in and begin racing.