What we drive: 1994 Mazda RX-7 R2

Blame it on the 1993 Montego blue RX-7 parked a block away from my childhood home--and the cover photo of the competition yellow mica R1 gracing one of the other monthly car magazines that year. Either way, it was 1993 when my captivation with the third-generation Mazda RX-7 caught fire. I was 10 years old.

Fioravanti expands into China in partnership with Eastone

Renowned Italian design house Fioravanti has formed a partnership with Shanghai-based design and engineering consultancy Eastone. The aim of this powerful duo is to deliver a wide range of design and build services directly to Chinese OEMs, with the first fruit of their labors being a concept car for Chinese manufacturer BAIC, to be unveiled at the Beijing auto show. For the first time in their own country, Chinese OEMs can now benefit from the time-served capabilities, knowledge and car culture typical of a leading Italian design house, while simultaneously gaining from the local knowledge, strong relationships and powerful commercial strength of a domestic design company.

Edelbrock teams with Ohio Technical College to teach hot-rodders

Many of today's prominent hot-rodders and car customizers talk about how they learned their craft working alongside a mentor, turning wrenches in a garage for hours on end. Now, there's a school for that. Noted tuning-parts maker Edelbrock LLC has teamed up with Ohio Technical College in Cleveland to create the Edelbrock Academy.