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

Toyota Prius V

Toyota is keen to expand the Prius brand. The company will introduce a multitude of variants in the coming years and the Prius V, unveiled at the 2011 NAIAS, is the first expansion to the family. Retaining the familiar Prius features, the V simply sharpens up elements over the existing sedan.

British Honda engineers get green light from Japan

Honda UK’s small UK vehicle engineering centre is all set to grow in size and importance following approval from Japanese bosses. The British car development base supports Honda’s main European development centre in Frankfurt but has been taking on increasing responsibility in recent years. Honda Civic Tourer prototype review (2013 onwards) Honda Civic review (2012 onwards) Success here, said a Honda spokesman, has meant Japanese management feels it can hand over more responsibility to the small Swindon centre.

BMW set to go front-wheel drive

BMW chairman Norbert Reithofer has confirmed that the German carmaker will introduce a new front-wheel-drive entry-level model positioned and priced below the existing 1-series as part of plans to help increase part sharing and to bolster the potential for production savings between the BMW and Mini brands, thus bringing an end to the era of rear- and four-wheel-drive-only BMW models. Speaking to AutoWeek at the Geneva motor show, Reithofer said internal BMW studies revealed that despite the downturn in the world's economy, there was continued demand for what he described as "premium vehicles" in the small-car class, before officially acknowledging plans that will see BMW produce a rival to the recently unveiled Audi A1 and a new Smart Forfour presently under development at Mercedes-Benz. "We will be extending the BMW and Mini brands into the small-car segment with new models and variants," he said.