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

Classic vs. Modern, Part One: Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 or 2012 Kia Rio SX

A recent 220-volt shock administered by the $23K-plus window sticker of a loaded Ford Fiesta rental car made me think about what the same dollars would buy in a classic car, and what the relative cost of ownership would be. My favorite matchup doesn't even require as much coin as said fully accessorized rental Fiesta. The 2012 Kia Rio SX carries an as-tested-by-Autoweek price of $20,745.

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.

Seat Mii (2012): the Spanish VW Up city car

We’ve seen the German and Czech versions of the Volkswagen Up – and today it’s the turn of the Spanish to showcase their new Seat Mii. The Mii is the new city car for VW’s Mediterranean outpost, and launches Seat back into a segment it deserted when the Arosa walked off choice lists. Seat Mii (2012): the lowdown Seat will launch the Mii in the Spanish market in winter 2011, but UK buyers will have to wait until spring 2012 before they can order the city car.