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

New Peugeot 208 production cut as sales disappoint

Peugeot is cutting back on production of the new 208 as its sales fail to reach expectations, just six months on from launch. It’s not enough when Europe is ion the midst of an economic crisis and car buyers are polarised between ‘budget’ cars that offer more for less than mainstream offerings and ‘Premium’ models that are bought on the back of a preconceived notion of more kudos. That leaves car makers like Peugeot (and Renault, Citroen, Vauxhall, Ford, Opel, Fiat…) between a rock and a hard place, unable – or unwilling – to compete with the offerings from Korea and saddled with a brand that doesn’t have the ‘class’ of an Audi or a BMW or a Mercedes or even a VW.

Volvo Emissions Equality Campaign – Great move

The Volvo V70 - less polluting than a Fiat 500 Whenever we get the opportunity – as regular readers will know – we complain about the current obsession with CO2 emissions on cars and call for car makers and Governments to act on the emissions which actually matter – NOx, hydrocarbons and particulates (and here, and here, and here and…). And it looks like Volvo agrees. Volvo are launching the ‘Emissions Equality Campaign to get car buyers to consider the whole picture when it comes to car emissions and not just look at the figure for CO2, which buyers have been brainwashed in to thinking matters (our view of CO2 – not Volvo’s).

Chrysler recalls minivans for airbag fix

The Chrysler Group is recalling about 300,000 Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans to fix airbags that might deploy without warning. The recall covers vans built for the 2008 model year. Chrysler says water could leak into the airbag controller from a faulty drain grommet in the ventilation system.