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

Best Western Hotels rolling out EV charging points in the UK

We’re electric car sceptics – or at least sceptical about their ability to replace the ICE car as our principal form of personal transport – although EVs do have their place as runarounds in urban areas, where their limited range isn’t really a factor. But taking your EV off for a weekend jaunt does pose logistical problems when the average range is probably no more than 80 miles, and something worth making the effort for a weekend away is almost always going to be further away than that. But a bit of smart marketing by Best Western Hotels – a group of 270 or so independently run hotels round the UK – means EV drivers will soon be able to plot their weekend away on the basis of Best Western Hotels en route, with Best Western planning on fitting EV charging points in their car parks, with half their hotels having free charging points by September.

Designer Tom Matano part of start-up car company in Louisiana

A new auto company backed by Texas billionaire investor T. Boone Pickens and staffed by former Mazda design chief Tom Matano plans to build "environmentally friendly" vehicles in Louisiana. V-Vehicle Co., of San Diego, will bring about 1,400 workers to a Monroe plant that once belonged to General Motors, according to a statement Wednesday from the Louisiana Economic Development Web site.

Mercedes S400 Hybrid – and a facelift as well

Mercedes S400 Hybrid launched - and a facelift for the S Class Range [ad#ad-1] Mercedes has long held the ‘Best Luxury Car’ mantle, despite build quality issues in the early part of this century, but the competition, particularly from Audi and BMW has got stronger with each model change, so they have to keep upping their game (and the new Jaguar XJ may make them up it even further before long). So we knew it time for a facelift for the current S Class, but Mercedes has decided to link that with the launch of the first S Class Hybrid – the S400 Hybrid. The S400 Hybrid gets a 3.5 litre V6 petrol engine, which on its own delivers 279bhp, but linked to an electric motor it gets a 20bhp boost and a big jump in torque.