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

CES opens with fewer big wheels, including carmakers

There are some grumblings that the annual CES is becoming less relevant in this era of 24-hour news and instant globalization of information on the internet. And you can make a good argument that the relevance of the world's largest consumer electronics show is at least evolving, for carmakers as well as for other industry giants. It has always been an industry only show, with no public -- the “consumers” in "consumer electronics" -- allowed.

BMW 3-series (2012): first official pictures of the new F30

BMW today slid the covers off the new 3-series. Dubbed F30 in BMWspeak, this is an important car for Munich, selling in six-figure numbers across the world. One in five BMWs sold globally is a 3-series.

Honda’s Insight for Europe revealed

  Honda Insight for UK undercuts the Prius [ad#ad-1] Last week at the Detroit Motor Show, Honda revealed its Prius-challenging Insight Hybrid, and has today revealed details on the UK/Euro version. The new Insight, which utilises a 1.3 litre petrol engine with 88bhp, coupled with a 14bhp electric motor to give a 0-60 of just over 12 seconds and 113mph, has very low Co2 of 101-105g/km (which means just £35 VED – but if only they’d shaved that a smidge it would have been a freebie) which is very creditable. Honda has the Prius firmly in its sights with this car, and it aims to comfortably undercut the Prius on price.