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

MG CS SUV Concept heading for Shanghai Motor Show

MG are still struggling to make much of an impact on the car landscape, but one car that could change that is a funky urban crossover / SUV to give cars like the Nissan Juke a run for their money. That looked to be on the cards last year when MG turned up at the Beijing Motor Show with the MG Icon, an SUV.Crossover Concept that took the ‘Ugly but Cute’ style cues from the Juke but grafted on a nose that looked like it could have come from MG’s sports car past. The Icon was a decent effort – and even won an award for ‘Best Concept’ at Beijing from Autoweek – but it looks like MG has decided the design of the Icon was just a bit too radical, so they’ve toned it down with a new concept heading for this year’s Shanghai Motor Show – the MG CS Concept.

2015 Land Rover Defender delayed – creating the absolute dog’s danglers will take longer

Recently, we reported  Land Rover’s design director Gerry McGovern saying of the 2015 Land Rover Defender  “This car will be the bollocks, I assure you. The absolute dog’s bollocks.” But it seems that creating the absolute dog’s danglers is going to take a bit longer than planned. Autocar are reporting that John Edwards – Land Rover’s Global Brand Director – has said the new Defender will not be going in to production in 2015 as planned, although Land Rover are planning to scrap the current Defender then as it will no longer meet emissions regulations.

Nissan’s new lightweight philosophy revealed

The leaked official drawings of the new Nissan Micra might have revealed the conventional styling of the company’s new supermini, but they gave little clue to the dramatically lightweight new platform that underpins it. The new Micra will be significantly lighter and more fuel efficient than the outgoing car due to a ruthless pursuit of weight reduction on the new V-platform (V = versatile), which on average has slashed 50kg from the new car's weight, and up to 70kg on some models. Project leader Noritaka Tsuru described the new package as a 'breakthrough car' that required a complete 'change in mentality' in how Nissan makes cars.