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

New Mazda3 Hatchback & Fastback priced from £16,695

The New Mazda3 (pictured at Frankfurt) costs from £16,695 Mazda revealed the new Mazda3 back in June, but didn’t manage to come up with prices for the UK. But now, with the Mazda 3 going on sale and due to arrive in the UK in January, Mazda has decided what it’s going to charge. The starting point for the new Mazda3 will be £16,695 for the 1.5 litre SKYACTIV-G petrol 100ps SE hatchback rising to £23,345 for the diesel 2.2-litre 150ps Sport Nav Auto hatchback.

“Where is the sustainable vehicle design?”

The notion of a 'new paradigm in car design' was a theme running through talks by five panelists at London's Royal College of Art last week, who debated "Seriously now, where is the sustainable vehicle design?" Despite disparate backgrounds, there was broad agreement that a truly sustainable form of personal transportation is unlikely to come from an established automotive firm any time soon. Panelist Rob Holdway of Giraffe Innovation was most vocal in his approach to the subject, saying "Frankly, I think the car is unacceptable - we hear a lot about the sustainable car, but I don't think there is such a thing as a sustainable car". The audience - made up mainly of RCA students - also heard from Nico Sergent of Riversimple about how the company's seven-point business model, and its open source strategy, incentivized the company to build a truly sustainable car and mobility package that the current auto model simply doesn't allow.

V6 dropped for redesigned Mazda 6 sedan

Mazda will drop the V6 engine from the Mazda 6 lineup, the company told Automotive News. Instead, the redesigned Mazda 6 will use powertrains from Mazda's Skyactiv technology bin, including direct-injection four-cylinder engines and ultra-efficient transmissions. “We believe that the balance of fuel economy and power that Skyactiv offers is what customers want,” a Mazda spokesman said.