1985 Yamaha Zy80 Exhaust on 2040-parts.com

BMW ActiveHybrid 3 (2012 / 2013): New 3 Series Hybrid details revealed

2012 BMW ActiveHybrid 3 - on sale late 2012 BMW hasn’t had the most astonishing success with its hybrid offerings to date, but despite that, and following the reveal of the 2012 3 Series last week, they have announced details of the 3 Series hybrid – the BMW ActiveHybrid 3. Just like the recently revealed ActiveHybrid 5, the BMW Active Hybrid 3 will get a 302bhp twin-turbo six-pot (the same engine as the 335i) together with an electric motor which throws an additional 53bhp in to the mix. That should mean a 0-60mph of around 5.5 seconds (although BMW has given us no performance figures) and it will give 44mpg, exactly the same as the bigger ActiveHybrid 5 – and not exactly spectacular.

Jet Age lands at Rodeo Drive Concours

Fins and aerodynamic stability -- the latter sometimes real, sometimes just for style -- dominated the 20th anniversary of the Rodeo Drive Concours in Beverly Hills Sunday. The era of magnificent tail fins was born from the sweet optimism of the 1950s, when “The Future” was just around the corner and we were all looking forward to piloting jet packs, being served by robots and living in futuristic domed cities on the moon. You could call it The Jet Age, and when businessjet timeshare company Flexjet offered to sponsor the Rodeo Drive Concours this year, it suddenly sounded like the perfect theme for the show.

Nissan moves Europe design chief to U.S., Campbell to retire

Bruce Campbell, Nissan's U.S. design chief, will retire at the end of March after 31 years with the automaker and will be replaced by Alfonso Albaisa, who currently is Nissan's European design chief. This will be the second tour of duty in the United States for Albaisa.