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

Volvo V60 Plug-in Diesel Hybrid: Geneva 2011 catch-up

Volvo V60 Diesel Plug-in Hybrid Geneva   We’re probably going to be playing catch-up for the next few days on stuff we didn’t manage to cover on the press days at Geneva. And this – the Volvo V60 Diesel Plug-in Hybrid – is one that should definitely have made it in to our coverage earlier. We’re not big fans of the hybrid route – especially in small cars – but when it’s used to produce a car that is more economical and more powerful, we start to get it.

First Fisker Karma in the UK auctioned for £140k

First Fisker Karma in the UK auctioned for charity The extended range Fisker Karma arrived at last year’s Paris motor show, and now the very first Karma to arrive in the UK has been auctioned in aid of charity and raised a bid of £140,000 at the Pratham UK Gala held at Camden’s Roundhouse. The altruism demonstrated by offering appealing cars for charity auctions is to be commended, especially from a young - and relatively impoverished - outfit like Henrik Fisker’s eponymous company. Yes, there’s a bit of publicity to be garnered for the Karma, but good on Henrik for offering up the first Karma to charity.

Honda shows off Concept C and Concept S at Beijing motor show

Alongside the Chinese introduction of its new ILX and RDX, Honda rolled out two concept vehicles that the company says presage new models to hit the Chinese market. The “C” in “Concept C” apparently stands for “cool,” “challenge” and “China,” which is er, um, iffy, but at least it's a departure from Honda's as-of-late anodyne exterior design. Though it rather closely resembles a late-model Hyundai dressed up in Super Sentai garb, Honda claims that the C's design was inspired by a dragon.