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

Who's Where?: Maximilian Missoni becomes vice president exterior design at Volvo

Maximilian Missoni has been promoted to the position of vice president of exterior design at Volvo Cars. He replaces Fedde Talsma, who has elected to leave the company. Talsma's decision brings to an end a career at Volvo that began in 1982, with the past nine years spent as the firm's exterior design director.  Although Volvo states that Talsma has retired after serving 31-years at the Swedish firm, his LinkedIn profile states that he is now an independent automotive design adviser in his native Netherlands.

MINI Countryman / Crossman – the camouflage tease

MINI Crossman/Countryman Camouflage Tease Here we go again – more teases. This time it’s the MINI SUV – either MINI Countryman or MINI Crossman – which is the new MINI 4×4 we can expect to see at the Geneva Motor Show in a few weeks. We had the MINI Brachcomber Concept at Detroit last week which was the first real ‘In the Metal’ clue on the new MINI SUV, admittedly without doors or a roof.

Lexus IS 300h promises unrivalled ownership costs

The new Lexus IS - launched at Detroit in January and costing from £26,495 for the IS 250 in the UK – actually offers ownership costs that eclipse diesel offerings from the likes of Jaguar, BMW, Audi and Mercedes, say Lexus. Despite the logical assumption that the complex hybrid powerplant in the IS 300h would cost more to maintain, Lexus say the opposite is true. Because it has no clutch and the starter motor and alternator are integrated they require no servicing or replacement and Lexus has fitted a timing chain instead of a timing belt, so it won’t need regular replacement either.