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

Gorden Wagener on how Mercedes is "moving from a traditional luxury brand to a modern luxury brand"

Mercedes' 'home' design studio in Sindelfingen, Germany is housed in an expansive 30,000-square meter building designed by Renzo Piano. The lobby is unassuming, but we're soon through into what Mercedes' grandly calls 'the Vision Room.' It's here that strategic meetings are held with the firm's board, and where we meet Gorden Wagener, Mercedes' head of design since 2008. It's in the Vision Room that Wagener convinced the Mercedes board of the merits of his overarching design philosophy: 'sensual purity'.

First of five free Suzuki S-Crosses collected

SUZUKI has come over all charitable with the news that it has given away the first of its free S-Cross models that are up for grabs. Entrants to the competition had to nominate someone they knew to receive a free S-Cross car – and well-equipped models, too – with a brief explanation of why the nominee deserved it. The first to pick up their free new 14-plate crossover were a ‘very surprised’ Phillip Southward and wife Sue, who collected their SZ4-spec S-Cross at Suzuki’s RRG dealership in Stockport.

GM Europe weeks from running out of cash

By Phil McNamara Motor Industry 03 March 2009 19:03 GM Europe will run out of cash ‘early in the second quarter’ of 2009, unless the divison secures $3.3bn in funding from European governments. Speaking today (Tuesday 3 March), GM chief operating officer Fritz Henderson revealed that insolvency loomed, due to the plunge in European car sales and GM’s liquidity crisis in North America. He ruled out a swift cash injection from private investors, saying that no talks had taken place and that lengthy negotiations and due diligence would take too long.