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

Maybach Zeppelin comes over the horizon

The Maybach Zeppelin - an even bigger waste of money than the standard Maybach Maybach has not exactly been an unmitigated success for Mercedes. Conceived as a competitor for Rolls Royce, it does seem to have carved itself a niche, but probably not the one that Mercedes wanted. Perceived by most as a tarted-up S Class, and bought by the wealthy of the Playstation generation, rather than the Captains of Industry that Mercedes envisioned, the Maybach must be a loss-maker for Mercedes.

Design Museum's Designs of the Year Awards 2012

The Design Museum opened its ‘Designs of the Year' exhibition yesterday in a celebration of global design innovation at its home in Shad Thames, London. Designs from across the world within seven categories – Transport, Architecture, Digital, Fashion, Furniture, Graphics and Product – have been nominated by industry experts, with the nominations now on show at the Design Museum. The first of the transportation nominations is the Autolib, a Parisian electric car commissioned by Paris' Mayor, Bertrand Delanoë.

VW Touareg BlueMotion hits the UK

Volkswagen has announced the VW Touareg BlueMotion for the UK Offering improved economy and lower emissions, the Touareg BlueMotion manages to drop in to a lower Co2 band by emitting 219g/km (a reduction from 244g/km on the V6 TDi) and it delivers 34mpg as opposed to 30.4mpg on the V7 TDi. These improvements have been achieved by the usual ECU tweaking, low rolling resistance tyres, some aerodynamic tweaks and a lower ride height (exactly the same sort of stuff that Ford has done on the EConetic range). And the penalty for the lower emissions and better economy is very slight, with the Touareg BlueMotion still managing the 0-60mph in 8.5 seconds and a top speed of  126mph.