1970s-80s Mopar Holley 2 Bbl Carb R7671 A 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.

Honda Small Sports EV Concept (2011) first pictures

Honda hopes to set the agenda at the 2011 Tokyo motor show with no fewer than seven concept cars – including its answer to the BMW i8, the new Small Sports EV Concept. Little is being said about the new compact sports car, but we know it will definitely be a full EV. These first design sketches reveal a stubby targa top with new Honda styling cues.

Reuss: GM considering 'something really fun' for Buick

Buick dealers still salivating over the Riviera concept that General Motors unveiled at last month's Shanghai auto show should take a deep breath: There's little chance that the flashy coupe will ever grace a Buick showroom. But they should view the Riviera -- which GM says points to the brand's design direction -- as a signal that GM is serious about adding pizazz to the Buick lineup now that the 110-year-old brand, which barely survived GM's bankruptcy four years ago, is getting comfortable in its born-again skin. "We've very carefully built Buick back to a brand that has respect," GM North America President Mark Reuss told Automotive News.