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

How to be an EV Evangelist

It was called a webinar but it seemed more like EV evangelism to us. Electric car advocacy group Plug In America spent an hour this week on the Internet telling 91 true believers how to spread the message of the kilowatt to those who still believed internal combustion was the only way to go. “People need to be convinced that they will like a plug-in vehicles,” said Plug In America board member Chad Schwitters online.

Ram beefs up heavy-duty trucks for more towing

The Chrysler Group is upgrading its heavy-duty Ram pickups for the 2013 model to deliver what it says will be class-leading towing capacity. Diesel-powered versions also adopt selective catalytic reduction exhaust treatment to cut emissions and extend maintenance intervals. The automaker has also created a dedicated commercial vehicle team within the Ram brand to boost its business with fleet and work truck buyers.

VW Group planning 10-speed DSG, new powerful diesel engine & more plug-in hybrids

The end of the internal combustion engine is nigh, they say, as the world tries to clean up its environmental act and works towards a goal of electric motors to power our personal transport. But car makers are fighting that belief by extracting more power for less fuel from ICE engines, and there’s still a very long way to go before the ICE engine is consigned to the history books. Volkswagen has already reduced the fuel consumption of both their diesel and petrol engines by 30 per cent since 2000 and plan a further reduction of 15 per cent by 2020.