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

European Car of the Year shortlist announced

THE SEVEN CARS that will battle it out to become European Car of the Year (ECOTY) 2014 have been announced. Decided on by a jury of 53 motoring journalists from across Europe, the shortlists is made up of the BMW i3, Citroen C4 Picasso, Mazda 3, Mercedes S-Class, Peugeot 308, Skoda Octavia and Tesla Model S. This is the first time the ECOTY shortlist of contenders has included two electric vehicles with the BMW i3 and Tesla Model S.

Jaguar Land Rover to spend additional £250 million a year with UK suppliers

JLR to spend and extra £1 billion with UK suppliers The Range Rover Evoque phenomenon continues with Jaguar Land Rover announcing an extra £250 million additional annual spend with UK suppliers. Just last week we had the news that Land Rover’s Freelander 2 had hit sales of 300,000 since its launch in 2007, but if the Range Rover Evoque continues selling the way it has that figure will be eclipsed in half the time by the Evoque. And it’s sales of the Evoque – Land Rover has sold 60,000 Evoques in the first seven months on sale – that’s driving the need to spend more with suppliers and the announcement today that UK suppliers can look forward to an extra £250 million a year being spent to support the Evoque’s production at Halewood.

Ford recalls minivans, SUV

Ford is recalling nearly half a million vehicles to fix defects that can cause fires or loss of power. About 205,800 copies of the Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivan from the 2004 and 2005 model years are being recalled, because torque-converter output shafts in the transaxle might fail and cause power loss. Ford is also recalling 244,530 Escape SUVs from the 2001 and 2002 model years, which might have brake-fluid leaks that can cause corrosion and fire.