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

Land Rover Defender reprieved

Land Rover Defender reprieved until 2017 - and maybe beyond It’s the news that all die-hard Land Rover Defender fans – and there are still plenty of them – wanted to hear; the current Defender has won a reprieve until at least 2017. It had originally been thought that the iconic (that word again, but it’s justified in the Defender’s case) Landie would be forced in to the annuls of motoring history by Euro emissions rules. But thanks to plans to endow the current Defender with a version of JLR’s 2.2 litre diesel, it now means that the Defender as we know it can keep on trucking until at least 2017 with its new, Euro5 compliant engine.

Volkswagen to buy Giorgetto Giugiaro’s Italdesign?

The Morris Ital - one of Morris Ital by Giorgetto Giugiaro's greatest (sort of) It’s probably a fair bet – or at least was and has been for some time – that Volkswagen would be in the frame to buy an motoring asset that comes on the market. Especially if that asset is in trouble and an iconic name can be grabbed for a song – or less. Which explains why the names of VW and Giugiaro’s Italdesign are being linked together as the Italian designer appears to seek a car maker to rescue it from the woes of being an independent in these rather troubled times.

Multi-touch UI reduces touchscreen interaction to simple swipes [w/video]

Touchscreens have become widespread standard features in many cars over the last few years, consolidating the modern car's many functions into one interface. But despite their advantages there's the big downside of driver distraction, something user interface designer Matthaeus Krenn believes he has solved with his UI. Unlike most other touchscreens, Krenn's interface isn't organized into menus and small, hard-to-hit buttons, but instead makes use of multi-touch gestures, reducing the accuracy and attention needed to operate key functions.