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

American Picked

Toney Thomas knows his junk. Ask him about any of the thousands of items--from antique BB guns to ancient boat motors, from old service-station signage to historic military gear--in his 30-foot-by-60-foot storage barn in rural Michigan, and he'll most likely have a story to tell. Thomas's penchant for collecting led to his appearance on a fall episode of the History Channel's American Pickers with celebrity junk hunters Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz.

Volvo WILL build a luxury car to take on the Mercedes S-Class

Volvo WILL build a luxury car to take on the Mercedes S-Class (Concept You pictured) Volvo has done a lot right – and not much wrong – since Geely took over the reigns from Ford. With new cars like the V40, a new range of 4-cylinder engines and a new design direction – previewed by the stunning Volvo Concept Coupe – the Swedes look to be on a roll. But their strategy of pointing their cars at premium car lovers in the mainstream segment seemed to have taken a left turn with a revelation by Geely and Volvo Chairman, Li Shufu, who has declared Volvo are to build a luxury car to take on the might of the Mercedes S-Class, Audi A8, BMW 7-Series and Jaguar XJ.

Driven: BMW i8

When BMW unveiled the Vision EfficientDynamics concept at the 2009 Frankfurt motor show, we wrote: "for our money, it's the first time a major carmaker has really attempted to communicate ‘green' technology in an aesthetic sense." Fast-forward five years and we've swapped the show halls of the IAA for a beauty spot on the north-west coast of Scotland. And, while the car's name has changed to i8, our sentiment towards this genre- and era-defining car remains. Admittedly the production car's design execution hasn't received the universal praise of its concept forebears, but, on a remote outpost of the British Isles, a Protonic Blue i8 couldn't look more exotic.