Auto Trans Flexplate Pioneer Fra-474 on 2040-parts.com

New Ford Mondeo: Estate, Hybrid and 4WD

The 2013 Ford Mondeo will come as a regular five door and estate but there will also be a four wheel diesel and a hybrid option. We’ve already reported that the new Mondeo will get the 1.0 litre EcoBoost engine as an option – the first time any car in the D Segment has had such a small engine – but there’s more to the new Mondeo than just a headline little engine and an Aston Martin grill. As well as the frugal EcoBoost engine, Ford will also be launching their first hybrid in Europe with a Mondeo Hybrid boasting a 2.0-litre petrol engine with a 35kW lithium-ion battery to trim official emissions and consumption as much as possible.

Insurance group lists its Top Safety Picks

After increasing its standards for 2011 models, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says that 66 vehicles--more than double the 2010 total--rate as best in the industry at protecting passengers from front, side, rollover and rear crashes. Only 27 vehicles qualified last year after the group, funded by the insurance industry, required that vehicles pass a roof-strength test to earn a good rating, claiming that stronger roofs would reduce the risk of serious or fatal injury by 50 percent in a rollover accident. The most mentioned carmakers on the 2011 list are Hyundai/Kia and Volkswagen/Audi, both with nine vehicles to get the Top Safety Pick designation.

MINI confirms details of engines for new 2014 Cooper and Cooper S

MINI MINI has confirmed a slew of technical details for the next-generation MINI family, the first of which will be shown later in autumn 2013. A mix of three- and four-cylinder engines will be available in the new MINI, all sporting the latest tech to keep the brand's fun quotient up and fuel consumption and emissions down. So turbocharging is common across the range, and petrol engines employ direct fuel injection for precise metering of unleaded.