90 Yamaha Phazer Pz 480 Starter Motor Te on 2040-parts.com

Who's Where: Gorden Wagener to head Mercedes Advanced Design NA

German designer Gorden Wagener, 37, has been appointed President of Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design of North America. Beginning his new position on January 1. 2006, Wagener now focuses on products specifically for North America, including production and show cars as well as advanced projects.

2013 Nissan LEAF updated

Nissan has updated the LEAF EV in Japan for 2013 with better range, less weight and a new LEAF S entry-level model. Revealed in Japan – but likely to come to the UK from 2013 when the LEAF starts rolling out of Nissan’s Sunderland factory – there are significant upgrades to the powertrain which result in both less weight and better range. Nissan has had a play with the electric powertrain and made it both smaller and lighter with a new motor that uses 40 per cent less dysprosium (a rare earth metal) than before, and comes in 30 per cent smaller and 10 per cent lighter, and a new streamline battery case and a few other tweaks drops the LEAF’s weight by 80kg.

Honda Accord Hybrid boasts 50 mpg in 2014 model

Honda is giving us a real treat with its 2014 50-mpg Accord Hybrid, set to go on sale Halloween of this year. This well-equipped Accord Hybrid will be offered with a choice of three different grades with a suggested retail price ranging from $29,945 to $35,695 including destination. The LX, Sport and EX/EX-L sedan models will feature an In-Line 4-Cylinder engine, as well as the LX-S, EX and EX-L coupe models.