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

Volkswagen Rock Up! & Groove Up! launch

It’s already getting on for two years since the VW Up! arrived as Volkswagen’s main weapon in the city car market, so it’s well overdue for a special edition model to keep interest in the appealing little Up! high, and add some footfall to Volkswagen’s newly refurbished UK showrooms.

One Lap of the Web: Remembering the dearly departed

-- With news that Toyota is leaving the great state of California for the greater (by landmass, anyway; your own opinion may vary) state of Texas, it's worth reminding ourselves that Toyota in America started as one lonely building on 6000 Hollywood Blvd., having taken over a former Rambler dealership. (The site is still a successful Toyota dealership.) That first year of sales in 1958 saw 287 Toyopet Crowns and one Land Cruiser sold -- more as curiosities than as practical transportation, we'd wager. -- At any rate, Toyota's move from California to Texas is moving from "one of the most eco-friendly states in the union," according to Ward's Auto, "to the U.S.’s equivalent of China." -- Ten years ago today, the last Oldsmobile rolled off the line at Lansing Car Assembly.

European new car sales in record LOW

European new car registrations have plunged to their LOWEST level on record after slow August sales reversed an upturn in July. Registrations of 7,841,596 new cars between January-August 2013 marked a new low for the European new car market of 27 countries – so few cars have never previously been recorded since records began in 1990. 2013 UK new car sales forecast revised upwards European new car sales continue to struggle The UK new car market is the sole exception: so far this year, new car registrations have risen 10.4%, compared to the European decline of 5.2% in the same time period.