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

Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Mazda recall 3.4 million cars over Airbag fault

As recalls go, 3.4 million cars around the globe is a big number, but it’s that big because a parts supplier - Takata Corp – supplied the same airbag part to Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Mazda, so the recall involves all four Japanese car makers. The part at fault could cause the airbag inflator to rupture and deploy the airbag abnormally, although there have been no reports of injuries due to the potentially faulty part and just five reports of the fault existing – three in the US and two in Japan. In the UK the number of cars affected – and do note the recall only affects cars sold between 2000 and 2004 – appears to be about 75,000 for Toyota, 60,000 for Nissan, 15,000 for Honda and 2.000 for Mazda, and all four car makers will be getting in touch with owners during the next month to book their cars in for free replacement of the part.

Ford to sell off Volvo: newsflash

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 01 December 2008 15:18 Ford has just announced it is putting Volvo up for sale. The strategic review, announced today, is part of the Blue Oval’s rescue plan and, if it does sell its Swedish outpost, it could add hundreds of millions to Ford’s wonky balance sheet. The news underlines the collapse of Ford’s global ambitions.

Aston Martin and Mercedes 'to strike €300m deal'

By Georg Kacher Motor Industry 22 October 2008 21:25 CAR Online today lifts the lid on the secret deal – codenamed Romeo and Juliet – being hammered out between Aston Martin and Mercedes-Benz. We have sensational details of the alliance, including a plan for hybrid Aston Martins, the full range of proposed Lagonda models and even a possible DB10 and 4x4 from the Aston Martin Lagonda stable. Back in August 2008, we revealed how the British sports car maker was in talks with the German giant over future cooperation (read our original Aston-Merc scoop here).