Autometer 3618 Sport-comp Ii Electric Fuel Level Gauge on 2040-parts.com

Kia goes (dark) green

By Jesse Crosse Motor Industry 23 September 2008 11:00 Kia has unveiled a portfolio of new environmental technologies, including a 1.4-litre Ceed with stop-start (due in the UK in 2009), a Ceed hybrid and the latest version of its fuel cell-powered Sportage. The Korean manufacturer is investing heavily in research and development and will increase its spend on R&D from £2.2 billion this year to £2.6 billion by 2010, combined with a 40 percent increase in manpower at its research centres around the globe. The money is being spent on developing downsized, turbocharged engines, efficiency improvements to conventional engines such as friction reduction and the separation of accessories like water pumps from the engine.

Hood-ornament quiz--the answers

Were you able to separate the Cadillac from the Packard in our hood-ornaments challenge in the April 5 issue of AutoWeek? We wanted to know whether you could identify eight classic cars solely by their hood ornaments. Here's the place to confirm your car-knowledge prowess, or to recalibrate your hood-ornament history.

Ford B-MAX off to a strong start in UK

The new Ford B-Max compact people carrier is off to a strong sales start in the UK, with 1,000 already delivered to customers. And that eye-catching advert (we’ve posted it below – Ford in Europe need all the help they can get to garner sales!) will no doubt raise awareness of the long-awaited replacement for the old Fiesta-based Fusion MPV and help make the B-Max a success for Ford in a segment they once dominated, but which they’d left to wither on the vine. But eye-catching  advert for the new B-Max or not, the B-Max is already selling well with over 1,000 cars delivered to customers in the last few weeks and orders for 2500 cars received by Ford in the UK before the B-Max even appeared in showrooms.