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

2012 Ford Focus ST gets 297bhp

Those clever chaps at SuperChips have given the 2012 Ford Focus ST a bit of an ECU tweak to deliver 297bhp and an extra 85lb/ft of torque. When we reported last week that WTC outfit Arena had in roped Ford’s tuner of choice, Mountune, to give the new Ford Focus a makeover, we were a tad disappointed to discover that they were tweaking the rather journeyman Focus Zetec S. That meant the Zetec S got 200bhp – a handy jump – but we bemoaned the fact that they hadn’t fiddled with the Focus ST to give us a car to fill the void left by the absence of a Focus RS in the current iteration of the Focus.

Consumer Electronics Show: News and Notes

Here are some more things we saw at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. -- While it came onto the market at the top end, HD Radio is now trickling down to even entry-level cars. To emphasize that, parked in the HD Radio booth at CES was a Jetta, a 2012 Focus and a Forester, all relatively affordable rides that can come with the improved radio reception of HD.

2010 European Car of the Year shortlist announced

2010 European Car of the Year shortlist announced By Ben Pulman Motor Industry 24 June 2009 18:30 Early nominations for the 2010 European Car of the Year award have been announced, and the initial list of 29 cars includes a few that aren't even on sale yet. However, the European Car of the Year organisation expects the list of nominees to expand even further, before motoring journalist from across Europe vote in September 2009 to cull the entrants and create a seven-car shortlist. The overall winner will then be announced at the end of the year.