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

Budget 2009 - UK gets £2000 scrappage scheme

By Ben Pulman Motor Industry 22 April 2009 15:15 Chancellor Alistair Darling has announced a £2000 car-scrapping incentive, and a surprise 2p per litre increase in fuel tax in the latest budget. Darling delivered his Budget speech at 12.30pm GMT today. Scroll down the page to see our edited highlights of the 2009 Budget, read in-depth details of the scrappage scheme and see how the motor industry has responded.

Range Rover unveils Evoque SUV

Land Rover has taken the wraps off its new small SUV, the two-door Range Rover Evoque, as it makes a bid to appeal to fashion-conscious urbanites. The Evoque (not to be confused with the Cadillac Evoq concept from 1999) maintains virtually all the styling from the LRX concept that previewed it two years ago. The example shown at a the unveiling in England on Thursday appeared to be slightly smaller than the concept.

SAE approves new fast-charging standard for EVs, plug-ins

SAE International said it has approved a new technical standard that will dramatically reduce charging times for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and electric vehicles. The global engineering group said the new charging standard, developed with the cooperation of more than 190 automakers, utilities and equipment builders, will allow charging times to be reduced from as long as eight hours to as short as 20 minutes. Automakers want DC direct charging to take less than 10 minutes, or roughly the time it takes to fill a tank with gasoline.The goal is to accommodate currents as high as 500 volts distributed from public charging stations.