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

New car sales up by 3% on 2013

ANOTHER RISE in new car sales in February has meant purchases have increased every month for two years. A total of 68,736 vehicles were registered last month - a 3% rise on the total for February 2013, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said. Sales for the first two months of this year have totalled 223,298 - a 6.1% rise on the total for the first two months of 2013 SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said the two years of continuous growth was "a real endorsement of consumer confidence and the attractiveness of the new car market".

Mercury dies off, Lincoln to benefit

Ford's brand portfolio is set to get smaller by the end of the year. Following the sale of Aston Martin, Land Rover, Jaguar and most recently Volvo (to Chinese automaker Geely), the Blue Oval has now announced the demise of its 'middle of the range' Mercury brand, with production of the last vehicles set to cease at the end of 2010. In a statement released to media, Ford announced that the shuttering of the 71-year old Mercury brand was in the interest of focusing on Lincoln, the automaker's only remaining premium brand.

Peugeot 208 GTi Concept (2012) first official pictures

This is the Peugeot GTi Concept, and it's a near-200bhp hot hatch that Peugeot will unveil at the Geneva motor show in March 2012. Unveiled alongside it will be the Peugeot 208 XY Concept.  The Peugeot 208 GTi Concept is technically still a concept, but the hottest Peugeot 208 already runs a THP 156 engine, so the mule our spies spotted cold weather testing is thought to be an early prototype for a production version of the GTi.