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

Smart fortwo Edition Limited Three

Mercedes has had stick in the past for playing with its ‘Toy Car’, the Smart. What was a quality maker like Mercedes doing involved with a car the size of the boot on an S Class Mercedes and named after a watch maker (the name stands for Swatch Mercedes Art)? Don’t get me wrong; there was always going to be a market for a car designed to park ‘nose-in’ in busy European streets, but its seemed like Mercedes was stretching itself too thin at a time when it was suffering a big loss in the reputation it had for building high-quality machinery.

Ford electrifies the Focus

Don't be fooled by the Aston Martin-like grille and the stretched headlights--the Ford Focus electric has some serious green-car ethos. The Focus five-door hatch will be Ford's first-ever all-electric passenger car when it launches in late 2011. It can travel at speeds up to 84 mph and takes three to four hours to charge on a 240-volt outlet.

Exclusive: Phil Zak appointed Chief Designer at Hyundai America (updated)

Phillip A Zak will become the new Chief Designer at Hyundai's North American Design Center in Irvine, California, filling the role previously held by former GM designer Joel Piaskowski who left Hyundai to become Head of Advanced Design at Mercedes-Benz's North American Design Center in January of this year. Zak joins Hyundai from his previous role as head of exterior design at GM Europe - a post he has held since August 2007 - and will work in parallel to European Chief Designer Thomas Buerkle (who worked at BMW before joining the Korean automaker), developing vehicles for the North American market. As is the case with Buerkle, Zak will report to Hyundai Design Director Mr.