B18c Eagle Rods. 5430 Cho on 2040-parts.com

Honda Vezel crossover arrives at the Tokyo motor show

For the record, Vezel rhymes with "bezel," and it's the name of Honda's long suspected Fit-based crossover. Honda showed off the new Vezel hybrid model at the Tokyo motor show, though the production model set to launch in Japan in December will also be available with a straight-gasoline 1.5-liter direct-injected engine also. Other details are still slim, but the company did claim a "Sport Hybrid i-DCD" powertrain will get a stronger engine and most likely a dual-clutch transmission with integrated electric motor.

Lotus sues Dany Bahar for £2.5 million

Lotus are suing ousted CEO Dany Bahar for £2.5 million to recover the cost of his expensive lifestyle billed to Lotus. It seems DBR-HiCom, new owners of Proton (which own Lotus), took one look at the mess in Hethel and dumped Bahar, replacing him with engineer Aslam Farikullah to try and re-focus Lotus on its core products and engineering instead of pursuing Bahar’s fantasy of churning out the biggest range of luxury supercars of any car maker on the planet. That ousting led to Bahar issuing proceedings against Lotus for £6.7 million in August for wrongful dismissal (which gives you some idea of Bahar’s estimate of his own worth).

Daihatsu Copen revised

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 14 March 2007 09:08 The Daihatsu Copen - a Suzuki Cappuccino for the 21st century? Britain's cheapest roadster has been given a massive engine boost, after Daihatsu chopped the 660cc engine in the Copen for a 1.3 twin-cam. The Copen was conceived under Japan's K-car rules for short micro cars with engines under 0.7 litres, and its right-hand drive status meant it was imported to the UK market.