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

Designer insights: highlights of Auto Design Prague 2014

Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, might not seem the most obvious choice for an automotive design conference. But when one considers the country's history of innovation in the arts and architecture, its long-lived automotive marques like Tatra and Skoda, and Prague's central location in Europe, it makes perfect sense. Conference speakers included the program design director for Citroën DS, Ivo Groen; Volvo vice president of design Thomas Ingenlath; Jaguar advanced design director, Julian Thomson; Gert Hildebrand, head of design for Qoros; and Johann Lemercier, program manager at Ferrari design.

Stop buying new cars says government adviser

People should stop buying new cars and drive their old ones until they’re beyond repair, says a top government adviser. This news, reported by the Daily Telegraph, comes a day after we reported that new cars sales figures have hit a six-year high. On Bing: see pictures of scrap cars Find out how much a car over 10-years-old costs on Auto Trader Chief scientific adviser to the government’s energy department, David MacKay, said “car manufacturers love us to buy a new car every few years” and that Britain needs to end its throw away culture.

Ford Focus ST is dead – bring on the 2011 Ford Focus ST

The Ford Focus ST Yes, Ford’s Championship League hot Focus – the Ford Focus ST - falls foul of Euro 5 emissions which come in to force in January, so it joins cars like the Civic Type R and the Mazda RX-8 in being confined to the history book of motoring with its 5-pot 2.5 litre lump – which also did sterling service in the Focus RS and the Focus RS500 - failing to keep up with the regulator’s pen. Bur fear not, although you’ll have to wait probably until 2012 (or at least late in to 2011) to get a look at the 2012 Focus RS, the 2011 Ford Focus ST will be here even before the last rites have been read for the current ST; the new 2011 Focus ST bows in at Paris in just over a month’s time. By all accounts the 2011 Focus ST is going to come equipped with performance comparable to the current RS rather than the current ST.