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

Audi A4 SE Technik – gets more equipment, costs less

The Audi A4 SE Technik (pictured) gets more equipment and costs less ‘Special Edition’ cars are a way to get more for less from car makers, as long as the goodies on offer at cut price float your boat, and Audi’s Technik upgrade for the new A4 Saloon and Avant is one such upgrade that offers good value. And now it’s got better. The A4 Technik already gets a well-chose list of upgrades from the regular SE trim, with Milano leather, HDD MMI Nav plus, AMI iPod connection and Audi Parking Plus all part of the package at an extra cost of £1,350 over the SE spec.

GPS signals trump cellular in FCC battle

Bandwidth has become a precious commodity. Just ask any owner of a car that has an analog OnStar system that wound up being a useless brick when digital cellular signals were declared to be the only game in town. LightSquared, a company that grew out of the satellite-communications industry, is banking that the chunk of spectrum it holds the rights to will help smaller, regional competitors compete with the big wireless providers.

Hyundai ix35 Facelift goes further in Korea – and looks better for it

Last year we had spy shots of the Hyundai ix35 facelift floating round Korea – Hyundai’s home market – which showed a much more convincing nose than the, then, ix35 in Europe, but they eventually turned out to be photos of the ix35 FCEV which Hyundai had given a nose much more like the new Santa Fe and which we thought pointed at the 2013 facelift for the ix35. But when the Hyundai ix35 did turn up at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show with a bit of a titivate, it was exactly that – some very minor tweaking which kept the 2013 ix35 looking very similar to the 2012 model. But that’s not happening in Korea.