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

Hot seats: from design to delivery [sponsored]

As the user demands on car interiors are increasingly influenced by their growing design consciousness, so suppliers like Lear strive to bring better-engineered seating to satisfy. 2013 was another big year for Lear, as Jeanette Puig-Pey, its global fabric & leather design manager, enthuses: "At our ‘Design2Perform' event we celebrated the unveiling of our brand new collection, with special emphasis on color and texture and our TeXstyle Enhance product, perfect for customization. Laser etching is part of this offering, it is exclusive to Lear Corporation and can be used to add refined design elements to cloth and leather." A mix of fabric and leather in seating is not new but is often seen by the consumer as a cheaper alternative to full leather.

Jaguar XF 2.0 litre EcoBoost for China

Jaguar are to fit the 2.0 litre EcoBoost engine to the XF for the Chinese market as a more affordable entry point for the XF range. Even though Jaguar Land Rover are yet to get official Chinese Government approval for their Joint Venture with Chery, China is already a big market for them and, just like other luxury car makers, they are willing to produce cars just for the China market. According to reports from China, the Jaguar XF is about to get the 2.0 litre EcoBoost engine from the Range Rover Evoque to create a new entry-level Jaguar XF at a more appealing price point.

The new Honda Insight hybrid is shown at the Detroit auto show

The new Honda Insight was unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show To hear Honda tell it, the new 2010 Insight coming to market this April is all about making hybrid technology available to Gen-Y. That's because it's smaller and less expensive than the class-leading Toyota Prius or Honda's own Civic Hybrid. We drove the Insight in Arizona recently and found it also more fun to drive than most hybrids, another attribute that ranks high among young buyers.