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

Hyundai move from Baboons to Kids to test quality

Hyundai let a troop of 4 & 5 year olds loose on an i30 to test quality Last year, Hyundai let a troop of 40 safari park baboons loose on an i30 to see if, left to their own devices, they could trash Hyundai’s very well bolted together (just ask Martin Winterkorn) i30. It was a clever way to demonstrate that the i30 doesn’t just look good, but is made of a bit more than recycled baked bean cans and Fairy liquid bottles. The i30 came through the baboon test with flying colours (even the company tasked with cleaning it up after the baboons commented on the story that they were impressed by how unscathed the i30 was), but Hyundai has now come up with a quality test that makes the baboon adventure look like a walk in the (safari) park.

2014 Mercedes-Benz S-class gets price cut

The 2014 Mercedes-Benz S-class will start at $93,825 when it arrives in dealerships in October. That’s $2,100 less than last year’s entry-level model. The S550 4Matic, coming in November, will sticker for $96,825, and the rocket-powered AMG will hit your wallet for $140,425.

Peugeot puts RCZ designer on Twitter

Like many automakers, Peugeot is now making conspicuous use of social media platforms as a component in its new car launch campaigns and in order to manage customer relations online. For its new RCZ coupe, Peugeot in the UK has been running a social media campaign under the strap line "It chooses you", with associated Twitter and Facebook accounts – which culminated with a member of the public winning an RCZ last week. For auto designers, there was little interest in the campaign up until last week, when Peugeot put RCZ designer Boris Reinmöller behind a computer terminal and opened him up to a public Q+A session through its Twitter account.