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

Michelin design contest inspires young minds

The College for Creative Studies in Detroit held its 24th Michelin Design challenge, in which Michelin sponsors a design and development project for one of CCS' transportation design classes. The competition works like this: CCS and Michelin get together to develop a theme, then CCS picks which transportation design class will work on the project. The idea, Michelin says, is to celebrate and promote the kind of vehicle design that highlights original thinking and innovation.

2012 BMW 1-series gets light freshening

BMW is lightly updating the 1-series coupe and convertible for 2012 with several sporty modifications. The 128i and the 135i get air curtains for the front fascia to counter aerodynamic drag. Other refinements include accents for the headlights and taillights and light finishings for the interior.

Ford Focus Facelift price and spec – costs from £13,995

The new Ford Focus will be in dealers in November 2014 The facelift for the Ford Focus was revealed back in February, but only now are Ford getting their act together with prices and specifications, and the new Focus won’t be in Ford’s UK showrooms until November. Key changes for the new Focus include the new family grill (well, the ‘Aston’ family grill), some tweaks to the lights and alloys and a less cluttered, more upmarket interior, new engines and chassis changes. Ford has retained the same model line-up for the new Focus – and the same starting price – with the Focus Studio ((from £13,995), Style (£16,795), Zetec (£18,295), Zetec S (£20,045), Titanium (£19,795) and Titanium X (£21,795) which means the starting price stays the same and the top-end Titanium models drop by £100.