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

Mercedes launch new 9G-Tronic gearbox on E350 BlueTec

New Mercedes E350 BlueTec (pictured) gets 9-speed 9G-TRONIC auto It’s not exactly a million years ago that automatic gearboxes offered poorer performance and economy than manual gearboxes, and came as standard with just three gears. But now, automatic gearboxes are so good they can  change quicker than any driver and, with the proliferation of eight-speed auto ‘boxes, offer improved economy and performance too. The next logical step is even more ratios in an auto ‘box, and Land Rover has already revealed they’ll be fitting the Evoque with a 9-speed ZF ‘box from 2014, and the new Jeep Grand Cherokee gets a nine-speed auto ‘box too.

Lincoln hires ex-Cadillac designer

Lincoln has hired ex-Cadillac designer Max Wolff to be its design director starting on Jan. 3. Wolff, 38, will oversee the look of Ford's luxury brand as it plans to launch seven new vehicles over the next four years, including its first C-segment small car.

Aston Martin Heritage Showroom will flog you a nice classic Aston

Now you can buy your Classic Aston Martin at Aston’s new Heritage Showroom (pictured) The world is full of Classic Car Dealers, but now, for the first time, you’ll be able to buy a classic Aston Martin from the people who made it in the first place. Aston Martin has gone back to its spiritual home to create a classic car showroom at Newport Pagnell, and has spent the last two years developing the old Olympia building to house their Classic Car offerings. The Olympia building, itself 100 years old and once an integral part of AML’s Newport Pagnell operations, has been fully refurbished and decorated in period style with not just lots of glorious classic Astons (and Lagondas) but displays of memorabilia from the factory heritage collection.