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

Mark Vaughn: We’ll always have Vegas

There were a few bare spots on the floor of the Consumer Electronics Show this year, spots that in previous years had been jammed sardine-like with myriad Taiwanese makers of Hello Kitty knockoff cell phone cozies and electronic barking dogs, but the show this year was nonetheless pretty well attended. Besides, for those working their way upstream through the aisles like so many digitally trained trout, the empty spots left by exhibitors that pulled out were like refreshing mountain meadows or little piazzas in crowded Italian cities. Show management stocked the open spots with cushy couches, too, on which many a jet-lagged showgoer snoozed.

Volvo V40 Cross Country & V40 R-Design: Paris 2012

Volvo has revealed the V40 Cross Country and V40 R-Design at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, and both are convincing. The sporty take on the new V40 is the V40 R-design, a cosmetic update for the already good-looking V40 that manages to bolt on go-faster bits without wrecking the good lines of the normal V40. We would like to have seen the Volvo V40 R-Design get the sports suspension as standard, but Volvo obviously feel that most R-Design buyers want the looks rather than the more dynamic ride the sports suspension offers, so it stays as an option. And as the R-Design option is available across the new V40 range – from the D2 to the T4 – it’s probably the right decision.

It’s the BMW 7-Series ‘Horse Edition’ to celebrate China’s Year of the Horse

The BMW 7-Series Horse Edition (pictured) heading for the 2014 Beijing Motor Show China is a huge car market for premium brand, so with the Beijing Motor Show on the way we’ll no doubt be seeing a raft of China Specials revealed as car makers seek to appeal to China’s still deep-pocketed buyers. Cars like the Ferrari 458 Italia China Special Edition, Audi R8 China Edition, Porsche 911 Turbo S China 10th Anniversary Edition and Aston Martin’s ‘Dragon 88′ special editions of the DBS Volante, Virage Coupe and V8 Vantage S Coupe are just a few of the China Specials Western car makers have bolted together to tempt the Chinese to part with their cash. Now we have another with the BMW 7-Series Horse Edition, which might sound like a special edition Land Rover Discovery but which is in fact a titivated 7-Series to celebrate the Year of the Horse.