Omix-ada 17417.05 Intake Valve on 2040-parts.com

RCA 'Future Car' design competition winner announced

Michal Vlcek, a first-year student in the Vehicle Design department at London's Royal College of Arts, has been announced by the organizers of the London Motorexpo as the winner of the competition to design an innovative electric-powered car. The competition, which was open exclusively to RCA students, asked for designs for the four person electric vehicle of 2032, using "the packaging advantages of an electric motor to move way from the formulaic styling of many modern-day passenger cars". Vlcek's high-quality artwork and lateral thinking proved to be instrumental in his success.

Mercedes fixes diesel injector problems

Mercedes say that a new injector system for C Class and E Class diesels with the OM651 engine have now been fixed. So extensive was the problem that many owners were waiting months for their cars to be fixed as Mercedes struggled with a mounting pile of broken cars and injectors that were failing. Mercedes tell us that the problem was fixed with the release of new injectors later in 2010, but Cars UK readers have continued to complain about their cars needing multiple visits to dealers with injectors failing multiple times (that original story garnered more than 500 comments from disgruntled Mercedes owners).

Mercedes A-class (2012) prices and specs

Mercedes has announced its new A-class hatch will start from £18,945 for the entry-level petrol A180 in the UK, rising all the way to £28,775 for the A250 in 'Engineered by AMG' trim. Which engines power the new Mercedes A-class? The base A180 gets a 1.6-litre petrol four-cylinder with 120bhp.