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

New Nissan Micra loses ground in Europe over quality issues and no diesel option

Nissan Micra Sales fall in Europe Nissan trumpeted the new Micra as its ‘Global Compact Car’ in the run-up to its reveal at Geneva last year. And by ‘Global’ they meant ‘Produced in Emerging Markets’. Which is a big change from the last generation Micra which was produced in Sunderland, but a move that seemed to make sense in a world where small cars in emerging markets are a priority, and where cost of production is much lower.

Honda speeds up major changes to the Civic

Honda will bring out a significant mid-cycle change to its embattled Civic compact this fall, just 18 months after it launched, a high-ranking executive told dealers here. The move is a rush to improve the Civic in time for the 2013 model year. The Civic's cheapened interior and other reductions in content got a critical reviews from The Wall Street Journal, and Consumer Reports removed the model from its recommended list.

2013 VW Beetle Convertible arrives

The new 2013 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible has been revealed ahead of a launch at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November. The new Beetle Convertible is due to bow in at the LA Auto Show in November  but VW obviously decided it was pragmatic to get an early reveal out of the way before the new Bug soft top trickled on to the Interwebs of its own accord. What we get is what we expected (although we did hold out a little hope the new Beetle Cabriolet would look more like the E-Bugster Cabriolet Concept); a convertible version of the 2012 Beetle with a pram style soft top that sits on the boot.