Yamaha Fuel Connector 6y2-24305-06 on 2040-parts.com

Demise of kei cars on the horizon?

The kei car has long been a staple of the Japanese automobile industry and its car culture. Too diminutive for Western markets, the tiny cars and trucks are a strong influencer of design in Japan. Now, as The New York Times reports, the Japanese government has hit kei cars with increases in sales tax, gasoline prices and has reduced the kei car tax break introduced to make the cars popular in the first place by 50 percent.

Chevrolet ups the apps for MyLink infotainment system

Soon owners of new Chevrolet vehicles like the Corvette, Equinox, Impala, Malibu, Volt, and Silverado will be able to download a range of different apps directly to their vehicles through MyLink. This will be made possible by General Motors' deployment of high-speed 4G LTE connectivity through OnStar, which will allow software to be downloaded directly to the car's infotainment system. Owners will be able to select and download apps though the Chevrolet AppShop, which will be accessible through an icon on the MyLink screen.

Volkswagen XL1

This, remarkably, is the production version of the Volkswagen XL1, the most fuel-efficient production car in the world, a car we'll see in Geneva in a little over a week. Barely changed from the concept version shown at the Qatar motor show two years ago, the production XL1 is the first production result of VW's 1-liter project – to design a car that uses less than 1l/100km (282.5mpg imperial) – that started with the lozenge-shaped, tandem-seat 2003 1L and the later L1 of 2009. The XL1 actually beats that by sipping just 0.9 liters with CO2 emissions of 21g/km.