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

New Peugeot 208 production cut as sales disappoint

Peugeot is cutting back on production of the new 208 as its sales fail to reach expectations, just six months on from launch. It’s not enough when Europe is ion the midst of an economic crisis and car buyers are polarised between ‘budget’ cars that offer more for less than mainstream offerings and ‘Premium’ models that are bought on the back of a preconceived notion of more kudos. That leaves car makers like Peugeot (and Renault, Citroen, Vauxhall, Ford, Opel, Fiat…) between a rock and a hard place, unable – or unwilling – to compete with the offerings from Korea and saddled with a brand that doesn’t have the ‘class’ of an Audi or a BMW or a Mercedes or even a VW.

Alfa Romeo 4C spied in Michigan

During the Detroit auto show in January, Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne told us -- in his own irreverent way -- that arrival of the long-promised Alfa Romeo 4C would be delayed once again. But as these spy photos show, testing on the sporty coupe continues even as a debut date remains elusive. This isn't the first time we've caught the 4C testing in the States.

VW Scirocco GTS & VW Beetle Fender arrive in the UK

Volkswagen has announced two new limited edition models for the UK – the VW Scirocco GTS and the VW Beetle Fender – with cosmetic tweaks. But, despite revealing the Scirocco GTS in Europe in October, it still seemed that VW had no plans to launch the Scirocco GTS in the UK. We did ask VW why, but they didn’t bother to respond.