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

California rules give push to 'green' vehicles in the near future

California regulators on Friday approved a plan that would require 15.4 percent of new vehicles sold in the state be electric, fuel-cell or plug-in hybrid vehicles by 2025. The rule--supported by major automakers--is part of a broader package of regulations called the Advanced Clean Car program designed to cut vehicle greenhouse gas and smog-forming emissions. The sweeping new auto emission standards could mean 1.4 million electric, fuel cell and plug-in hybrid vehicles on California roads by 2025.

New Peugeot 208 production cut as sales disappoint

Peugeot is cutting back on production of the new 208 as its sales fail to reach expectations, just six months on from launch. It’s not enough when Europe is ion the midst of an economic crisis and car buyers are polarised between ‘budget’ cars that offer more for less than mainstream offerings and ‘Premium’ models that are bought on the back of a preconceived notion of more kudos. That leaves car makers like Peugeot (and Renault, Citroen, Vauxhall, Ford, Opel, Fiat…) between a rock and a hard place, unable – or unwilling – to compete with the offerings from Korea and saddled with a brand that doesn’t have the ‘class’ of an Audi or a BMW or a Mercedes or even a VW.

BMW M550d xDrive to get three stage turbo

BMW M550d xDrive gets three stage turbo Earlier this week we revealed that the long-expected BMW M550d xDrive was ready to rock and we could expect it to debut at the Geneva Motor Show in Spring 2012. The M550d xDrive is the so-called ‘Triple-Turbo’ diesel engine we’ve been expecting from BMW for the last couple of years. With 380bhp and a mountain of torque – 520lb/ft or more – we’d expected BMW to fit the engine to the X5 and X6 to create a diesel version of the M cars.