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

Electric car lease deals are better than ever

This may be the beginning of a golden age of affordable electric cars: There are now or will soon be three electric cars available in California leasing at $199 a month, one for $249 and one for $259 a month. They are all perfectly wonderful subcompact four and five-seaters, any one of which could fit nicely into your urban or suburban lifestyle. Where else are you going to find a car for $199 a month?

MG3: Shanghai Motor Show

The MG3 SuperMini for Europe is a titivated version of the MG3 the Chinese market gets, complete with a decent dose of flair and additional equipment and cosmetic enhancements to make it more appealing to Western tastes. That means hockey stick shaped LED running lights across the range, black A-pillars, mesh grill (well, mesh slit at the front), dual colour side skirts, dual colour alloys and a rear valance MG say was inspired by generations of MG sports cars. Although only 4 metres long, MG say the MG3 offer space inside that matches or beats all competition (room for  four six-footers they reckon) and gets a ‘rolled and raised’ dash that accentuates the space on offer and sculpted backs to the front seats to help space in the rear.

JE Designs turns up the power in Touareg hybrid

JE Designs unveiled its freshly tuned 440-hp Volkswagen Touareg hybrid on Friday. The German tuning company boosted the Touareg’s output from 380 hp to 440 hp by optimizing the management of the 3.0-liter engine. The hybrid’s electric motor remains untouched.