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

Suzuki Swift gets a tweak for 2013

Suzuki Swift (pictured) gets a tweak for 2013 Suzuki has had a couple of bites at PR for the updated Swift already this week, with news that the Swift can now be had with a 4WD option and that the Swift Sport can be ordered with five doors. So even though it seems a bit back to front to trumpet two new versions of the Swift before revealing the overall tweaks to the range, it’s probably got Suzuki three times the coverage they’d have got if they’d just announced the 2013 tweaks included the 5-door Sport and 4WD option. Who can blame them?

New Mercedes A45 AMG has 105 years of 4WD on its side

With the new Mercedes A45 AMG on the horizon – complete with 4WD – Mercedes chart the history of all wheel drive on their vehicles. We tend to think of 4WD road cars as a modern innovation, and certainly very few 4WD road cars hit the road in a mainstream way much before the 1980s (the Jensen FF was hardly mainstream before someone points out that was in the 1960s). But the history of 4WD goes back, certainly in the case of Mercedes, a surprising 105 years when Daimler built the Dernburg-Wagen, a 4WD vehicle that not only got all-wheel drive but all wheel steering too.

U.S. is seeking a record $16.4 million fine against Toyota

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is seeking a historic $16.4 million civil penalty against Toyota for failing to notify the agency in a timely fashion of a throttle problem that could cause unintended acceleration, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said on Monday. The amount is the maximum penalty and would be the most NHTSA has levied against an automaker. The agency said Toyota waited at least four months to alert it of the potential pedal problem.