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

Skoda trio voted 'best in Britain'

BRITISH drivers are happier with their cars than ever before, especially if they own a Skoda. According to new figures collected by Auto Express magazine's annual Driver Power survey, the average satisfaction rating for a car in the top 100 was a huge 88.36%, which equates to a 7% rise since the survey’s launch in 2002. Steve Fowler, editor-in-chief of Auto Express, said: “The UK car market is booming at the moment with over two years of consecutive growth and new car registrations up 3%, and it is no surprise given the Driver Power results.

Mercedes S-Class Grand Edition launches

Mercedes S-Class Grand Edition - AMG cosmetics to garner the last sales It’s usually a fair assumption that when Mercedes launches a car with a ‘Grand Edition’ badge attached to its boot that the end for that model is nigh. And so it is with the Mercedes S-Class Grand Edition. So before the 2012 S-Class arrives with its Magic Sky and Magic Body and Magic everything else, Mercedes has bolted a lot of its high-end cosmetics to the more lowly S-Class models to try and wring the last few sales out of a car that is long in the tooth and no longer as good as the BMW 7 Series, Audi A8 or Jaguar XJ.

One Lap of the Web: Mock the Week Edition

-- Mazda Europe designer Peter Birthwhistle talks about the future of Mazda: potential hybrid and electric powertrains for the Skyactiv-obsessed company, and how we'll all be driving Mazda-branded pods in the 22nd century. But he also mentions, rather interestingly, how certain Mazdas capture a quintessentially long-hood, RWD look -- and not just the Miata, either, which is RWD. No, it's the exhaust systems on those Skyactiv engines that force a longer, larger hood compartment, and the "long, flowing looks" not usually found on FWD engines.