Custom Cover 02-05 on 2040-parts.com

Honda Gives You Wings

YOU might be more familiar with its cars and motorcycles, but did you know that Honda also made planes? If boat engines and quad bikes weren’t enough to keep the Japanese firm occupied, it recently embarked on a project to manufacture high-end business jets. With a base in America and more than a decade of research under its belt plus a small fleet of development aircraft, the company has announced that its first customer specification model is almost ready to fly.

Vauxhall Corsa now gets 85.6 mpg

The Vauxhall Corsa 1.3 CDTI ecoFLEX Start/Stop now achieves 85.6mpg with emissions of just 88g/km.  The Vauxhall Corsa –  and, for that matter, the Opel Corsa – has been revealed as the most economical car ever built by GM Europe after a series of tweaks has cut its already impressive fuel consumption. The Corsa 1.3 CDTI ecoFLEX Start-Stop )which, fortunately, isn’t emblazoned on the boot lid in full) can now squeeze 85.6 miles out of every gallon of diesel, which means emissions drop to just 88g/km. Vauxhall has had yet another play with their 1.3 litre diesel and fitted a variable displacement oil pump that delivered pressure to suit the load, had a tweak with the Corsa’s brain and filled low-viscosity oil in the gearbox  The result is in improvement of 7 per cent in economy over the current Corsa.

Toyota overhauls engine plans

For years, Toyota Motor Corp. has put hybrids at the center of its powertrain-technology strategy, all but oblivious to the rapid fuel-economy advancements rivals have made in the humble gasoline engine. Meanwhile, Ford, Honda, Mazda, Hyundai, Volkswagen and others have turned to gasoline direct fuel injection and turbochargers.