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

Fiat 500 in New York

The Fiat 500 on Wall Street - Image by AP Fiat has obviously taken a good look at what BMW has managed with the MINI and thought ‘We can do that’. After all, the Fiat 500 is a car very similar in concept to the MINI. Designed to evoke a motoring icon, but made very much 21st century in its execution, both the MINI and the Fiat 500 have gone down a storm in Europe.

Euro NCAP finds quadricycles had “severe safety problems”

Euro NCAP has branched out from cars and crash tested a small selection of “heavy quadricycles”  – small, four-wheeled vehicles that were originally developed from motorcycles that are sometimes also known as microcars, and don’t come under the usual car regulations. Although legal for use on the road, these machines do not need to achieve the same rigorous crash test safety standards as ordinary cars. But they are increasingly seen as a fuel-efficient urban transportation alternative, and some of them can be driven teenagers as young as 16.

Volvo S60 DRIVe & V60 DRIVe launch

The Volvo V60 DRIVe This week we’re out playing with a Volvo DRIVe model, although our car is the S40 DRIVe. DRIVe models are Volvo’s push at all things green (or all things blue if you’re German) and take a regular Volvo and eco the bejesus out of it with stuff like stop-start, low rolling resistance tyres and the plethora of eco-toys car makers use to make the headline economy and emissions unbelievable. The result is a Volvo that drives pretty much the same as any Volvo but which can – as long as you play the eco-driving game – run almost on fresh air, and because cars like this are designed to hit emissions targets on official cycles, they’re also good on stuff like VED and BIK. And if the S40 DRIVe we’ve got this week is anything to go by, you can still drive with enthusiasm and enjoy it as long as you don’t mind the economy suffering.