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

Alfa Romeo 4C convertible likely for 2015

Conventional wisdom holds that if you want to take on Porsche's 911, you need a convertible variant. And although Alfa Romeo's often marched to the beat of a wonderfully idiosyncratic drummer, it sounds as if it's hewing to general sporting-car rules of thumb with the 4C. According to a report in Britain's Autocar, sources have confirmed that a 4C convertible will follow the launch of the coupe by about a year.

See you in Shanghai; Conference and Awards events from CDN

阅读本文中文版本请点击这里 As China returns to work after the three-day Ching Ming holiday, all eyes in the automotive industry turn to Shanghai and what promises to be the most significant auto show of this year's global calendar.  CDN will be actively contributing to the insights into the direction being taken by car design in the country by hosting two events; the annual Interior Motives China conference and, on the middle evening of the conference, the awards ceremony of the second Car Design Awards China, for which the shortlist has just been announced. Themed ‘The challenge of being different', this year's Interior Motives China conference will see around 300 delegates wrestle with how to capture what is ‘Chinese' in car design. Speakers will be from both domestic studios and the design centres of global OEMs.

Tyre kickers cost industry millions

CUSTOMERS who have no intention of buying a used car are costing dealers millions of pounds every year in wasted time and lost purchases. By taking up the time of sales staff and keeping them away from genuine buyers, so called ‘tyre kickers’ soak up time touring showrooms and asking questions. Some will even take a test drive while having no intention to buy a car.