Arias Pistons 12.5:1 Compression 82mm Bore Honda B-series on 2040-parts.com

Fuel protests halt Spanish car production

By Dimitri Pesin Motoring Issues 16 June 2008 10:25 Fuel protests in Europe triggered by the soaring cost of fuel have drastically reduced car production in Spain this month.  Last week's truck blockades and fuel depot pickets in Madrid caused car plants around the country to cut production. Seat, Citroen Peugeot, Ford, Nissan, Renault and Mercedes-Benz all have factories in Spain and most said they were affected.Seat production slashed by 40 percentSeat said its main Martorell plant was operating at 40 percent capacity, with production of the Leon and Altea models severely affected. However, the protests won’t delay sales of the new Ibiza, a spokesman promised, and assembly of cars in the factory is expected to return to normal this week.

A tribute to Jim Das

On May 15 GM Europe designer Jim Das passed away in a Wiesbaden hospital after a year-long battle with leukemia. Jim joined the Opel Design team in 1997 following the completion of his Masters degree at the Royal College of Art. In 1998-99 Jim had a stint in Italy at the Opel Advanced Studio and worked on a roadster study (currently on display at Opel Live in Ruesselsheim).

Huge 'barn find' Porsche collection for sale

Here at MSN Cars, we often bring you pictures from the world's most exclusive car auctions, where the lots sometimes sell for many millions of pounds. But actually, there's something far more evocative about this collection of around 200 Porsches that are about to be auctioned. Maybe it's the unrestored and unpolished condition of many of the cars on offer.