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

New Corsa first of 27 new Vauxhalls and Opels in four years

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 04 June 2014 13:35 Opel and Vauxhall are preparing a barrage of 27 new models and 17 new engines in the next four years in a bid to stop the slide and return to profitability, the chief executive pledged today. Karl-Thomas Neumann said he hoped to increase its European market share to 8% by 2022, from the current 5.8%, by focusing on small cars and using the global reach of the GM family and its technology. If successful, that would mean becoming the second best-selling brand here.

Mercedes A 45 AMG goes off-road in the Desert (video)

The Mercedes A 45 AMG struts its stuff in the desert The Mercedes A 45 AMG is now starting to appear in small numbers on UK roads after buyers have been tempted to shell out nearly £40k for the quickest Mercedes A-Class there’s ever been. But it seems Mercedes don’t want us to think of the A 45 AMG as just a very hot hatch for the roads, but as a little hot hatch with some proper off-road pretensions. So they’ve taken the A 45 AMG off to West Africa to show it at play on the dirt tracks and sand dunes, and we have to say that Mercedes 4MATIC four wheel drive does seem to make a decent fist of coping with what’s thrown at it.

Toyota iQ and Urban Cruiser (2008): first official pictures

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 13 February 2008 12:28 Toyota hasn’t bottled it, thank goodness. This first photograph of the iQ shows that the production version of this fascinating mini has kept all the cheeky charm of last year’s show car, which won CAR’s concept car of the year gong. The iQ at 2007’s Frankfurt Motor Show wowed us for its fresh design, its simplicity and its back-to-basics overhaul of how a small car could be engineered.