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

Concept Car of the Week: Matra Laser (1971)

Founded in 1937, French company Matra began its activities by manufacturing military equipment such as aeronautics and weaponry. In the mid ‘60s, under Jean-Luc Lagardere's ambitious direction, the company bought Automobiles Rene Bonnet to expand its portfolio with street and racing cars. The first model solely developed by Matra was the bonkers, but brilliant, 1967 M530, which took its name from the company's surface-to-air missile the R530.

2014 Jeep Cherokees finally en route to dealerships

Car haulers loaded with 2014 Jeep Cherokee stick out on the flat farmland like elephants on the savannah -- lumbering behemoths easy to spot, even from miles away. In ones and twos they rumble the 15 miles west from Chrysler Group's massive Toledo, Ohio, assembly complex toward a former supplier-owned automotive testing center. The Cherokees were due in dealerships almost two months ago but have been held while Chrysler developed and installed new software to smooth out the way the engine, nine-speed transmission and innovative disconnecting drivetrain interact.

2013 Nissan LEAF updated

Nissan has updated the LEAF EV in Japan for 2013 with better range, less weight and a new LEAF S entry-level model. Revealed in Japan – but likely to come to the UK from 2013 when the LEAF starts rolling out of Nissan’s Sunderland factory – there are significant upgrades to the powertrain which result in both less weight and better range. Nissan has had a play with the electric powertrain and made it both smaller and lighter with a new motor that uses 40 per cent less dysprosium (a rare earth metal) than before, and comes in 30 per cent smaller and 10 per cent lighter, and a new streamline battery case and a few other tweaks drops the LEAF’s weight by 80kg.