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

Chicago auto show: Ford Transit Connect van targets businesses

The demise of the Freestar (more commonly remembered as the Windstar) minivan left Ford without a small cargo carrier it could pitch to business and fleet customers who didn't need the hugeness of the E-series van. That gap in the product lineup gets filled this summer with the front-drive Transit Connect van--a product Ford has been selling in European and Asian markets for six years. Ford rolls out the U.S.

Lexus IS 300h promises unrivalled ownership costs

The new Lexus IS - launched at Detroit in January and costing from £26,495 for the IS 250 in the UK – actually offers ownership costs that eclipse diesel offerings from the likes of Jaguar, BMW, Audi and Mercedes, say Lexus. Despite the logical assumption that the complex hybrid powerplant in the IS 300h would cost more to maintain, Lexus say the opposite is true. Because it has no clutch and the starter motor and alternator are integrated they require no servicing or replacement and Lexus has fitted a timing chain instead of a timing belt, so it won’t need regular replacement either.

Skoda Fabia

Skoda gave us its first indication of the new Fabia's design direction at the Geneva show earlier this year. There, its new city car's lines were upscaled to fit the VisionC coupé concept, memorable as much for its nuclear green paint job as its sharpened surfaces. As a result, the third-generation Fabia's design springs few surprises.