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

Lexus IS (2013) more details of new 3-series rival

Lexus has pulled the cloth back on the all-new Lexus IS at the 2013 Detroit motor show, and announced more details of its new hybrid 3-series rival. This will be the first hybrid Lexus IS, and UK sales will start in summer 2013.  What do we know about the new hybrid Lexus IS?  The IS300h combines an electric motor with a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine. The torque output is yet to be confirmed, but there's 217bhp and Lexus is aiming for a sub-100g/km CO2 output and fuel consumption of at least 65mpg. Figures like that are likely to grab the attention of fleet managers, as Lexus hopes to close the gap on rivals like the BMW 3-series, Mercedes C-class and Audi A4.  There's a non-hybrid model too, but this IS250 will be powered by a 204bhp 2.5-litre V6 petrol engine. It won't be a fleet favourite.  The IS250h has a six-speed automatic transmission, the IS300h has a CVT gearbox, and both cars are rear-wheel drive.

Jaguar: Four-wheel drive a priority. Hybrid Jaguars not.

Our long term Jaguar XJ would have been better in the snow with 4WD - but it's coming We’ve been talking about a four-wheel drive platform for Jaguars for a long time now. As far back as 2009, Jaguar privately confessed that the lack of an XF Estate was down to the lack of a 4WD platform to make the XF Estate a proper competitor in the luxury load-lugging market. And although we thought Jaguar could still make a success of the XF Estate without a 4WD option, we understood their perspective; Jaguar didn’t want to be the poor relation in the luxury estate market.

College for Creative Studies provost, design guru dies

Imre Molnar, the longtime academic chief at the prestigious College for Creative Studies in Detroit, died Dec. 28 of a heart attack while bicycle riding in California, the school announced. He was 61 years old.