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

David Brown Automotive promising a new luxury British sports car

David Brown Automotive promising a new luxury British sports car The name David Brown Automotive conjures up images of the man whose initials still give us the Aston Martin DB9 – former tractor builder David Brown who bought up Aston Martin in 1947 (and subsequently Lagonda and Tickford). But this David Brown Automotive is actually a new company which promises to “…refresh the classic British sports car, for the 21st Century” with a vision for a new luxury take on the classic British Sports Car. David Brown has put together a team lead by Alan Mobberley – who was  Chief Designer at Land Rover until 2005 and cropped up recently as the designer for Eterniti Motors – and has commissioned Envisage Group (the firm that bought up what was left of CPP after Vladimir Antonov’s exploits and who are building the glorious Lyonheart E-Type) to bring his dreams to life.

Vauxhall Ampera is 2012 European Car of the Year

The Opel/Vauxhall Ampera has been crowned European Car of the Year for 2012. The winner was announced today at a ceremony at the 2012 Geneva motor show. The votes of the 59 jurors from 23 European countries ranked the Ampera first, from a shortlist comprising Citroen DS5, Fiat Panda, Ford Focus, Opel/Vauxhall Ampera/Chevrolet Volt, Range Rover Evoque, Toyota Yaris and Volkswagen Up.

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.