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

Logbook loans signal increasing debt risk

CONSUMERS who buy second-hand cars are at risk of unwittingly inheriting debts taken out by the previous owner that could end up with their vehicle being seized, Citizens' Advice is warning. The charity said one in five people who reported a problem to it about “logbook loans”, where a person places their car as security against a loan, ended up having their car repossessed – despite not being the one who borrowed the money. Citizens' Advice warned someone who buys a car which is still the subject of an outstanding logbook loan taken out by a previous owner could end up being chased for the debt – leaving them with the choice of making the repayments or having their vehicle repossessed.

Mercedes-Benz axes Maybach

High ranking Mercedes-Benz sources have confirmed to Autoweek that the underperforming Maybach brand will be officially killed off in 2013. The decision to disband Mercedes-Benz’s upper luxury marque comes after a decade of disappointing sales for the Maybach 57 and 62 and a recent decision from the German car maker’s chairman Dieter Zetsche not to push ahead with the development replacement models – the likes of which were tentatively due out in 2014 – owing to what one insider describes as a “positive move to focus greater attention on the Mercedes-Benz brand” . “We’ve come to the conclusion that it is better to cut our losses with Maybach than to continue into an uncertain future with a brand that has failed to live up to original sales expectations," the insider said.

Porsche unveils 2015 911 Targa

Porsche has given its latest 911 Targa a heavy dose of retro appeal through the adoption of a series of classic styling cues that hark back to that of the original model launched in 1965. Unveiled at the Detroit auto show, the new 911 Targa is based around the same aluminium bodyshell and four-wheel drive mechanical package as the 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet, alongside which it will be produced at Porsche's Zuffenhausen factory on the outskirts of Stuttgart, Germany. Among the traditional styling elements Porsche's design boss Michael Mauer has chosen to resurrect on the new car is a fixed B-pillar hoop, or Targa bar as it has come to be known over the years.