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

Cost of garage labour falling

THE AVERAGE labour rate at both franchised and non-franchised garages has fallen compared to 2012, according to new figures. An annual survey of 12,000 cases conducted on behalf of Warranty Direct has concluded that the average labour rate in 2013 is £74.70, a fall of 9.84% from £82.86 in 2012. Less encouraging is the overall trend of rising labour rates, with the average having increased by 33% over the last ten years.

Suzuki Swift Sport gets 5 doors & costs £14,249

The new Suzuki Swift Sport 5-door (pictured) offers a more practical option to the Sport The Suzuki Swift Sport arrived in the UK at the end of 2011, and although it wasn’t exactly the sort of hot hatch that would make a Fiesta ST quake in its boots it did up the fun factor from Suziki’s more than decent Swift. In fact, the 3-door Swift Sport did a bit more than up the fun factor, it got Australia’s advertising authorities up in arms about its ‘suggestive’ advertising and got itself banned from Ozzie TV for being too ‘hot’. Which probably didn’t do sales any harm at all.

Kia GT concept (2011) at Frankfurt motor show

When CAR visited Kia’s Korean test facility in Namyang back in April 2011, there were several clues to suggest the company was looking into some kind of high-performance saloon: we saw an M3 and a Nissan GT-R in the car park, plus a senior engineer told us that he and the team often pondered what it would be like to build a – very specific this – V6 turbo, rear-wheel drive sports coupe. Board members, meanwhile, suggested we wait until the 2011 Frankfurt motor show to see what performance treats they had planned. Well, here’s the first glimpse of what all those clues could mean: the Kia GT.