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

Petrol cars twice as likely to fail MOT on emissions

The latest MOT test data shows that 26.2% of all cars tested fail on excess exhaust emissions – and surprisingly petrol cars fail more than twice as often as diesels in this part of the annual roadworthiness test. According to the official Vehicle Operator and Standard Agency (VOSA) figures, which cover all of 2010 and the first nine months of 2011, 9.7% of petrol cars failed to meet MOT emissions standards compared to just 3.9% of diesels. On Bing: see pictures of the MOT test Find out how much a used car with 12 months MOT costs on Auto Trader The analysis has been carried out by fuel additive “provider” Redex, which naturally has an interest in the findings, since its products are designed to breakdown engine deposits and improve efficiency.

Me and My Car: Achim Anscheidt and his Porsche 911 [w/Video]

You can tell a lot about a person from the car they drive. It can also be argued that you can tell a lot of about a car from who drives it, especially when that person is a respected designer, in this case the head of Design Bugatti Achim Anscheidt. In one of Drive's latest episodes features Anscheidt and his Porsche ‘Private Project' 911 around the streets of Berlin, discussing his take on minimalism in design and construction and how he feels about personal design projects.

Vauxhall VXR8 & SMART for-two CDI take MPG Marathon honours

Vauxhall VXR8 & SMART for-two CDI take MPG Marathon honours On the face of it, it’s reasonable to expect a car as small as the SMART for-two CDI to be capable of astonishing economy if driven in a certain way. And the ALD Automotive / Shell FuelSave MPG Marathon, run last week near Cirencester, proved exactly that, with a SMART driven by Mick Linford and co-driver Ella Flynn managing to use less than four gallons of diesel to cover the 370 mile route. That means the SMART fortwo CDI averaged 99.24mpg on the route on real roads, an improvement of 16 per cent on the official combined figure of 85.6.