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

Volkswagen Passat Alltrack: The VW Allroad arrives

The VW Passat Alltrack - debuts in Tokyo Volkswagen has jumped on to the Allroad bandwagon with its own take on Audi’s faux off-roader, with the reveal of the 2012 VW Passat Alltrack. As you would expect, the Passat Alltrack is a butched-up Passat Estate with a raised ride height, extra bits of plastic round the bumpers, skid plates, flared side sills and 4WD – VW’s 4MOTION – for more traction in boot sale car parks. But when you don’t need the 4WD, around 90 poer cent of the drive is through the front wheels – saving fuel – with the rear wheel drive only coming in to play when you start to slip and slide.

BMW X5 facelift (2010) first pictures

BMW is sprucing up its X5 SUV with range of cosmetic updates and engineering tweaks. Read on for our handy guide to how to spot the new 2010 X5 and what is new under the metal.How will I tell the new 2010 X5 apart from the old one?The headlamps on the X5 are new, the foglights move, air vents swell like a panting athlete's nostrils and the front bumpers have more body colour and fins in matt aluminium trim.Out back, new rear lights have BMW's now-trademark LED lighting bars emphasising horizontal lines of the X5. A range of SUV-atypical 19in and 20in wheels provide a planted stance for Chelsea, if not China.What's new under the bonnet of the facelifted X5?Eight-speed ZF automatic boxes are now standard across the board; their spread across the BMW range is endemic, in the quest for lower CO2 and higher mpg.

USED CAR BUYER CONFIDENCE “UNLIKELY TO IMPROVE” IN 2011 SAYS RAC

USED CAR buyer confidence is unlikely to improve significantly in 2011, meaning that demand for safety net products such as extended warranties will remain strong, says RAC Warranty. The company points out that at the end of 2010, used car warranties are still being enhanced – by both length of time and depth of cover – at around the same rates as during the worst parts of the recession, indicating that the mood of consumers remains cautious. Ian Simpson, sales and marketing director, said: “Next year, the measures that the coalition Government has undertaken to reduce public spending will really start to bite and that will have a definite impact on general confidence.