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

Jaguar Land Rover – Clever Finance Deal

JLR releases £170 million by financing cars in transit Car makers have been begging lines of credit from wherever they can in the last year as the recession has bitten hard in to their finances. Jaguar Land Rover started off down the Government Loan route, but it soon became clear that the strings attached to any Government sourced finance where unacceptable. But in a sign that the future of JLR looks pretty rosy JLR managed to secure £175 million in private financing back in August as part of a bid to raise £500 million, and Tata have refinanced the loans used to acquire JLR.

Skoda confirms two new models

Skoda Vision D at Geneva - Skoda's new design direction It’s now got to the point with Skoda where the skip-on-wheels reputation of the ’70s and ’80s – and even the ‘Cheap’ VW tag of the ’90s and ’00s – has been completely eclipsed by the perception of Skoda as quite simply the maker of some crackingly good cars. Cars like the brilliant little Skoda Fabia vRS – which we’d take over the Polo GTI (much more character) – and the equally brilliant Skoda Yeti which, although it might not quite live up to Clarkson’s recent tongue-in-cheek assertion as the best car in the world is, nonetheless, exceptionally good. That change in perception is clear in the confident model range on offer from Skoda and the clever way in which it’s marketed.

BMW 3 Series GT revealed

The BMW 3 Series Grand Turismo – the third model in the BMW 3 Series range – has been revealed ahead of a public debut at the Chicago and Geneva Motor Shows. Now, BMW has revealed a little brother for the not exactly super successful 5 Series Grand Turismo, in the guise of the new BMW 3 Series GT, a slightly ungainly looking 3 Series that’s almost as big as a 5 Series and will cost around £3,000 more than the 3 Series saloon. Stretched by 110mm in the wheelbase from the 3 Series Touring – and a full 200mm longer – the 3 Series GT will, say BMW, offer the dynamics of the saloon with the practicality of the Touring.