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

Car makers to be forced to disclaim ‘Official’ economy figures

We’ve banged on for a long time about the futility of official economy figures, especially as car makers get better and better at ‘gaming’ the official economy tests to produce the results they want. Much of the impetus to create the best headline economy figure for a car is driven by taxation, with car makers well aware that the better the official economy results are, the lower their CO2 will be (CO2 isn’t tested for – it’s just extrapolated from the official mpg) and the more appealing the car will be to buyers, particularly fleet buyers. But a ruling by the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) against Audi could at least see car makers having to admit in their adverts that the ‘official’ economy figure bears no relation to what owners can expect to achieve in the real world.

Land Rover and Bowler formalise Brand partnership – but no Land Rover stake in Bowler

Land Rover has formalised a brand partnership with Bowler Motorsport, makers of extreme off-road vehicles. Bowler has been making off-road rockets powered by Land Rover for over twenty years and has, during that time, enjoyed a fair bit of support from Land Rover. But now that less formal arrangement has been properly formalised with a brand partnership.

Honday Odyssey minivan recalled due to fire risk

Honda is recalling some 886,815 Odyssey minivans manufactured between 2005 and 2010, citing a risk of fire due to a possible fuel leak. The cause of the recall, which was announced on the NHTSA website on March 13, is a a cover on the fuel pump strainer which Honda believes can deteriorate and crack. The manufacturer stated that the fault can lead to a fuel smell or to a fuel leak which would pose a risk of fire.