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

Happy New Year: Our favourite cars of 2010

Our favourite cars of 2010 Happy New Year to every single one of our readers. Who now number 250,000 every month and read getting on for 1 million stories. Which considering two years ago we were the only ones reading Cars UK, and even last New Year we could only claim 250,000 stories a month, means we must be doing something right.

Hyundai Suicide ‘Advert’ causes a rumpus

It’s not easy advertising your wares and finding the right balance between mainstream and innovative to capture attention, as Hyundai has found out to their cost with an ‘advert’ for the hydrogen powered ix35 FCEV which, rather distastefully, depicts a man trying to commit suicide by running a hose from the tailpipe to the cabin before realising he can’t achieve his aim as the FCEV’s only emissions are water. It’s a proper cock-up from Hyundai – usually so sure-footed with their PR – but, despite Hyundai US putting the blame at the door of Hyundai UK, there’s more to this suicide ‘advert’ than meets the eye. It seems the suicide video was put together by Innocean – a European Ad Agency owned by Hyundai’s Chairman Chung Mong-koo and his daughter, and responsible for much of Hyundai’s marketing output – and was a clumsy attempt to gauge reaction to the somewhat macabre take on the benefits of an FCEV.

Range Rover Hybrids press ahead on Silk Trail route to Mumbai

A trio of Range Rover Hybrid prototypes is well on its way to India on a 9,950-mile endurance drive through 12 countries. Land Rover is following the old Silk Trail to the east, but while it took ancient merchants months to complete the route, the Land Rover Hybrid team will be doing it in just 53 days. The Silk Trail is a historical network of trade routes which connected Asia with Europe and the Mediterranean, and got its name from the Chinese silk which was a lucrative trade item well into the 14th century.