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

New Hyundai Test Centre at the Nurburgring revealed

Hyundai’s new test centre at the Nurburgring If anyone had said, just a few years ago, that Hyundai would develop a test centre at the Nurburgring to help shake-down their cars, they’d have been laughed at. But Hyundai – and Kia – have come so far in recent years that it makes absolute sense for them to develop a full-time testing facility at the Nurburgring to test their cars for the road, along with just about every other car maker of note. James May may object to the Nurburgring factor in the suspension set-ups of many road cars (and we do have some sympathy for his point of view), but the sometimes extreme nature of the Nurburgring’s surfaces – and its endless twists and turns, uphill and down – do offer car makers an easily accessible place to test cars in the (almost) real world.

Volvo commits to plug-in diesel hybrids in 2012

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 24 September 2009 16:53 Volvo will launch its first hybrid production cars in two years' time. The 2012 replacement for the V70 - which won't necessarily be a conventional estate - will have a premium range-topper powered by a plug-in diesel-electric powertrain. CAR's out in Sweden trying out the tech and today we drove a prototype for the new electric Volvo green car.

Chevrolet Sonic at the 2011 Detroit auto show

One of GM's numerous debuts at the 2011 Detroit auto show was this: the Chevrolet Sonic. Shown as a hatchback and four-door notchback, it's one of The General's weapons to tackle the now-globalised Ford Fiesta and its ilk. Good spot. That's because this is the US-spec Aveo - albeit shown in US-only notchback form as well as the more Euro-flavoured hatchback.