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

Congestion charge to rise by 15%

THE LONDON congestion charge is to rise from £10 a day to £11.50; a sudden 15% increase. The increase, the first since 2011, will take effect from June 16, Transport for London (TfL) has said, although the rate for those on the auto-pay system, and also for fleet customers, will be £10.50 per day. TfL said that customer improvements will be introduced next year, including direct debit payments for auto pay customers, online discount applications, and easier NHS patients and staff reimbursement.

Pioneer App Radio officially unveiled

Pioneer has officially unveiled the App Radio that AutoWeek told you about earlier this month. Now that it's willing to talk, Pioneer claims that the radio and audio system is "the first in-vehicle product designed to utilize the processing power, storage capacity, network connectivity and apps of the iPhone and iPod Touch as the primary source for its information and entertainment capabilities." That does sound a lot like what Mini Connected and, in a more platform-agnostic sense, Ford Sync are doing. Pioneer said it couldn't speak to the similarity of those systems, but Ted Cardenas, director of marketing for Pioneer's car-electronics division, briefed us on installation of the device and what Pioneer is doing to minimize driver distraction.

Lotus Exige S Roadster at 2012 Geneva motor show

Here’s the new Lotus Exige S Roadster, unveiled on the eve of the 2012 Geneva motor show. With a sub-four second sprint to the 60mph mark, it’s Hethel’s quickest soft top ever; we've already seen the Lotus Exige S in coupe guise, but this is the open-top Roadster variant. A hefty 3.5-litre V6 engine lies behind the cockpit which, says Lotus, has received the benefits of its racing technology.