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

Toyota NS4 Hybrid Concept tease for Detroit

Toyota NS4 Hybrid Concept teased Toyota are teasing a new hybrid concept car – the NS4 – ahead of the Detroit Auto Show in January. Today it’s Toyota’s turn to roll out the photographer they used last week to take photos of the Lexus concept for Detroit. This time it’s the Toyota NS4 being teased, and it looks like the photographer left his camera where it was after the Lexus shot and just rolled the NS4 in to view.

Art Center BMW/Exa project

There's a new sponsored project that is just getting under way at Art Center College of Design, the likes of which hasn't been seen in a very long time - if at all. The school's Transportation Design department has helped bring together BMW with Exa Corporation, a Boston-based virtual aerodynamic simulation company, and has tasked the students to re-design the current BMW X5 Sports Activity Vehicle with the hope of dramatically increasing its aerodynamic efficiency while still retaining the BMW flagship SAV design language. This brief is quite timely in the context of the industry's ongoing focus with sustainability and strikes at the core of the BMW Group's long term energy strategy known as the concept of Efficient Dynamics.

One Lap of the Web: Mock the Week Edition

-- Mazda Europe designer Peter Birthwhistle talks about the future of Mazda: potential hybrid and electric powertrains for the Skyactiv-obsessed company, and how we'll all be driving Mazda-branded pods in the 22nd century. But he also mentions, rather interestingly, how certain Mazdas capture a quintessentially long-hood, RWD look -- and not just the Miata, either, which is RWD. No, it's the exhaust systems on those Skyactiv engines that force a longer, larger hood compartment, and the "long, flowing looks" not usually found on FWD engines.