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

BMW adds 3-series GT to 2014 lineup

The BMW 3-series family is growing, as the German automaker adds a GT, or Gran Turismo, model to its lineup. The car launches this summer as a 2014 model after a reveal at the Geneva motor show. The 3-series GT is 7.9 inches longer, has a 4.3-inch longer wheelbase and is 3.2 inches taller than the existing 3-series wagon.

Analysis: why GM is pulling Chevrolet out of Europe

The news that Chevrolet is to leave the western European car market (while staying in eastern Europe and Russia) is not a huge surprise, but it provides an interesting contrast to the success of fellow Koreans, Hyundai and Kia. “Fellow Koreans?” you might say, “but isn’t Chevrolet American?” Yes and no. The Chevrolets we were getting were all made in Korea in the factories that used to be owned by Daewoo, except for the handful of Camaros and Corvettes, which were authentically American.

Toyota and Mercedes-Benz are top global car brands

Toyota & Mercedes-Benz are the Top Global Automotive Brands 2011 Interbrand, a branding consultancy, delivers a report on the world’s brands every year, and in 2011, despite recall woes and the devastation of the Japanese Tsunami, Toyota leads the automotive brands, with luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz just behind. Interbrand uses three measures to gauge how effective a brand is – performance of branded product, the brands ability to secure earnings and the role of the brand in purchasing decisions – to come up with a chart of the top 100 world brands. At the top of the tree are companies like Coca Cola, IBM, Microsoft and Google, but car brands do well with Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Honda, VW, and Ford all making it in to the top 50.