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

Car makers to be forced to disclaim ‘Official’ economy figures

We’ve banged on for a long time about the futility of official economy figures, especially as car makers get better and better at ‘gaming’ the official economy tests to produce the results they want. Much of the impetus to create the best headline economy figure for a car is driven by taxation, with car makers well aware that the better the official economy results are, the lower their CO2 will be (CO2 isn’t tested for – it’s just extrapolated from the official mpg) and the more appealing the car will be to buyers, particularly fleet buyers. But a ruling by the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) against Audi could at least see car makers having to admit in their adverts that the ‘official’ economy figure bears no relation to what owners can expect to achieve in the real world.

Is the Ford Fiesta ST more powerful in the US than the UK?

And although the Fiesta ST manages to undercut the new 208 GTI by £2k, it doesn’t need a hair shirt approach to equipment to achieve it, but comes equipped with AirCon, 17″ alloys, a bit of a body kit and lowered suspension. Throw another £1,000 in the pot for the ST2 and you’ll also get Keyless, leather and Climate. A decent offering.

Volkswagen OKs production of the Bugatti 16C Galibier, report says

Volkswagen AG has agreed to fund production of the Bugatti 16C Galibier sedan, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing two unnamed sources that had knowledge of the project. The 16C Galibier would join the Veyron sports car in Bugatti's lineup. But Galibier production may not start for two to three years while Bugatti retools its boutique manufacturing plant in Molsheim, France.