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.

Land Rover unveils Discovery Vision Concept in New York

Land Rover revealed its Discovery Vision Concept at the USS Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum Monday night ahead of the New York auto show. Land Rover says it's a vision of future Discovery vehicles, the first of which is due in 2015. The Discovery is now sold as the LR4 in the United States, but Land Rover says it will eventually shift the name back to "Discovery" for the North American market -- that's what we knew it as when it first made landfall, anyway.

Renault Twingo (2012) the facelifted French city car

Renault has just released this solitary photo of the revised Twingo supermini, which will be unveiled in full at the 2011 Frankfurt motor show in September. It’s all part of the PR thrust – because if you weren’t revved up about the facelifted Twingo, then this single picture is bound to get you very excited, right? Actually, the revised Renault Twingo looks pretty good… We agree.