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

2013 Audi R8 Facelift arrives (+video)

Audi has given the R8 a facelift for 2013 with cosmetic tweaks, a new 7-speed S tronic dual clutch and the Audi R8 V10 Plus. Audi’s answer to the Porsche 911 has been with us for six years and has grown to a complete range of supercars with four rings, including V8 and V10 versions as Spyder or Coupe and an R8 GT. But now its time for a complete refresh with the arrival of the 2013 Audi R8 Facelift.

SUVs – Huge in India

The West’s perception of a 4×4 in India – the truth is quite different (click for full image) Car buyers in the West flooded in to SUVs / 4x4s of one sort or another over the last decade. But the current economic woes have brought the SUV bandwagon to an abrupt halt as buyers desert the SUV in droves in favour of something smaller and more economical. Indians can actually buy everything from the most popular Ford Endeavour through to a full blown Cayenne or Range Rover.

Watch the sad, final moments of a crusher-bound heap

Automotive wrecking yards are good places to reflect on the real-world values of heavily depreciated vehicles versus global current scrap-metal prices, and to see which cars have suddenly had the fix-it-versus-total-it line moved by insurance companies (the early-21st-century Subaru Legacy Outback, for example, appeared in large numbers in high-turnover wrecking yards just during the last year, as fairly minor collision damage on these cars is no longer worth fixing). You'll see the things that a car's last owner does in a desperate attempt to sell (or at least live with) an increasingly decrepit heap (as we learned in "Repo Man," you really will find a Little Tree in every car). During a recent trip to a San Jose, Calif., yard, I encountered this sad yet strangely compelling scene.