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

Car making mysterious noises? There's an app for that

You may pride yourself on your ability to diagnose a developing engine problem by sound alone, and then replicate said mystery sound, Click-and-Clack-style, to amuse/annoy your friends and coworkers. ClingClanger is a new phone app that's designed for the rest of the world -- those who can't identify piston slap by sound and are startled by the clicking caused by a dying battery. The natural impulse is to simply crank up the radio and hope the noise/problem goes away.

CAR tech: why Porsche needs hybrids

At the launch of the 997-generation 911 Turbo in 2006, Porsche faced a daunting future. Anti-car chatter from EU legislators proposed banning anything that produced more than 241g/km of CO2 and exceeded 101mph. ‘We’ll have to close if the European Commission decides that every carmaker must reach [these targets],’ a Porsche exec told CAR.

Mercedes S400 Hybrid – and a facelift as well

Mercedes S400 Hybrid launched - and a facelift for the S Class Range [ad#ad-1] Mercedes has long held the ‘Best Luxury Car’ mantle, despite build quality issues in the early part of this century, but the competition, particularly from Audi and BMW has got stronger with each model change, so they have to keep upping their game (and the new Jaguar XJ may make them up it even further before long). So we knew it time for a facelift for the current S Class, but Mercedes has decided to link that with the launch of the first S Class Hybrid – the S400 Hybrid. The S400 Hybrid gets a 3.5 litre V6 petrol engine, which on its own delivers 279bhp, but linked to an electric motor it gets a 20bhp boost and a big jump in torque.