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

UK new car average CO2 now under 140g/km

UK motor industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) claims 56% of new cars sold in the UK during 2010 boasted carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions figures below 140g/km. New car emissions of CO2 continued to fall at an increased rate year-on-year, dropping 3.5% over 2009’s figures and representing a cumulative drop in new car CO2 emissions of 20.3% since 2000.  The data comes from the release of the SMMT’s annual New Car Carbon Dioxide (CO2) report for 2011, out today. UK vehicle fleet CO2 continues to fall The presence of lower-polluting new vehicles in the overall UK vehicle parc (the total fleet of new and existing vehicles on the roads) has driven parcwide CO2 levels down 7.8% since 2000, and 2.7% since 2009.  This is partly thanks to new vehicles, and also due to reduction of higher-polluting vehicles via legislation and scrappage incentive schemes. The overall reduction also comes in spite of an increased number of vehicles on the road, and greater average distances travelled compared to 2000. Diesel’s rise continues One notable trend has been market penetration of diesel-powered cars. In 2000 petrol powered cars held 85.9% of the market, with 14.1% diesels.

Video: Hagerty reviews Thursday action at Monterey Peninsula auctions

The Hagerty team--Rob Sass, Donald Osborne and Dave Kinney--review the Thursday action at auto auctions on the Monterey Peninsula, surrounding the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance: Mecum, Bonhams and Russo and Steele. The Monterey Week is packed with car shows, vintage racing and car auctions. Autoweek will be there providing streaming photo galleries and live coverage of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, historic racing at Laguna Seca, the Monterey car auctions and much more.

Mazda MX-5 Superlight concept at 2009 Frankfurt motor show

By Ben Pulman First Official Pictures 11 September 2009 09:30 To celebrate 20 years of the MX-5, Mazda has produced this special Superlight concept which be unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt motor show next week. Mazda started with the facelifted version of its third-gen sports car and pared it back to basics to create an uncompromising sub-1000kg two-seater sports car. According to project lead designer Hasip Girgin, the challenge was 'to evolve the MX-5, developed to perfection during the last 20 years, to a higher and extreme level.' As such, Mazda seems to be treating the MX-5 Superlight like a portly Caterham, claiming the lack of a windscreen and roof makes the driver and passenger feel more connected with the environment.