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

Kia Soul: more details and photos

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 02 September 2008 09:37 Kia has issued some more details and photographs of its new tallboy supermini alternative, the Soul. Kia calls the Soul 'a segment-busting urban crossover' model, but we'd pigeonhole it as an intriguing new rival to the likes of the Honda Jazz and Vauxhall Meriva, with a small dose of Mini charm thrown in for good measure. So what exactly is segment-busting about the Kia Soul?Is Kia right to label the Soul its value answer to the Mini?

BMW i3 EV will cost from £30,680 – less than we expected

The new BMW i3 EV (teased above) will costs from £30k The new BMW i3 electric City Car is due to be revealed in production guise on 29th July, ahead of which BMW has revealed it will cost from £30,680 – meaning a showroom sticker price of £25,680 after the EV taxpayer ‘grant’. That price is for the pure EV i3 – not the range-extender – which comes with a rear mounted 168bhp electric motor, a top speed of 93mph and a range (in ideal conditions) of around 80 miles between charges. At a retail price of £25k, the i3 compares favourably with other EVs like the Nissan LEAF, which costs from £21k, and the Chevy Volt at £30k (although that is a range extender).

A heavy key chain may deactivate the airbags in your Chevy Cobalt or Pontiac G5

GM is recalling 788,000 Cobalt and Pontiac G5 sedans for a potentially deadly problem with the ignition system. When the vehicles' keys are connected to heavy key chains (or, say, key rings laden with a dozen extra keys), a sufficiently extreme jolt or impact could shift the ignition out of the "run" position and into the "off" position. Cuts electrical power to the vehicles' systems, in turn deactivating the airbags.