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

Hyundai Suicide ‘Advert’ causes a rumpus

It’s not easy advertising your wares and finding the right balance between mainstream and innovative to capture attention, as Hyundai has found out to their cost with an ‘advert’ for the hydrogen powered ix35 FCEV which, rather distastefully, depicts a man trying to commit suicide by running a hose from the tailpipe to the cabin before realising he can’t achieve his aim as the FCEV’s only emissions are water. It’s a proper cock-up from Hyundai – usually so sure-footed with their PR – but, despite Hyundai US putting the blame at the door of Hyundai UK, there’s more to this suicide ‘advert’ than meets the eye. It seems the suicide video was put together by Innocean – a European Ad Agency owned by Hyundai’s Chairman Chung Mong-koo and his daughter, and responsible for much of Hyundai’s marketing output – and was a clumsy attempt to gauge reaction to the somewhat macabre take on the benefits of an FCEV.

Citroen DS3 at Frankfurt

  Citroen will be bringing the new DS3 to Frankfurt The DS3 – a MINI competitor – is the first model in Citroen’s DS range, designed to be an upmarket range of cars based on their more prosaic ‘C’ siblings. We can expect to see the Citroen DS4 in 2011 and the bigger Citroen DS5 in 2012. The DS3 is based on the new Citroen C3 – which will itself only be launched in November – and is slightly larger all round than the MINI.

HSV GTS/Vauxhall VXR8 (2013) first pictures of new Aussie M5

This is the new HSV GTS: all 577bhp of it. The V8-powered supersaloon has had a supercharger bolted onto its 430bhp engine, taking power from BMW M3 levels to the same poke as a Mercedes E63 AMG S. Plus, there's a new exterior and cabin design.