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

Like it or not, autonomous cars are here -- almost

One of the odder things about living in "the future" is that things develop so gradually, hardly any of the really amazing things we're exposed to every day seem amazing or futuristic. If the iPhone had just appeared from nowhere in 2007, there would have been riots, demonstrations and legislation. But since we had a Blackberry first, and dedicated cellphones before that, the iPhone and its progeny were never quite shocking.

Daihatsu hits Indonesian show with eight new concept cars

Daihatsu has launched a product offensive on the Indonesian International Motor Show in Jakarta, with eight concept cars all based around the theme ‘Compact ECO Mobility Best Friend'. As their endearingly Jenglish theme suggests, each of the cars is as compact as possible – Daihatsu is best known for producing Kei cars for its domestic Japanese market. (Incidentally the company's Tanto remains the most adorable of the Kei breed.) The UFC 2 (the blue car) is an evolution of the UFC that was show in 2012 and manages to squeeze seven seats into is handsomely contemporary body.

Mercedes-Benz axes Maybach

High ranking Mercedes-Benz sources have confirmed to Autoweek that the underperforming Maybach brand will be officially killed off in 2013. The decision to disband Mercedes-Benz’s upper luxury marque comes after a decade of disappointing sales for the Maybach 57 and 62 and a recent decision from the German car maker’s chairman Dieter Zetsche not to push ahead with the development replacement models – the likes of which were tentatively due out in 2014 – owing to what one insider describes as a “positive move to focus greater attention on the Mercedes-Benz brand” . “We’ve come to the conclusion that it is better to cut our losses with Maybach than to continue into an uncertain future with a brand that has failed to live up to original sales expectations," the insider said.