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

Toyota Prius points the way to design future

For a glimpse of Toyota's future design trends, check out the Prius. The third generation, debuting Monday in Japan, stays true to the line's role as a vanguard of futuristic styling and sports many new elements that will be popping up soon in other models. Chief among these are the sharply creased corners, the forward placement of the Toyota badge, a lowered grille and styling that Toyota's global design chief Wahei Hirai calls "free-form geometrics." The goal was to create an avant-garde, high-tech look that also screams green.

Nissan recalls Pathfinder, Infiniti QX4 for rusted steering column

Nissan is recalling at least 195,000 Pathfinder and Infiniti QX4 SUVs sold in 20 cold-weather states and the District of Columbia to inspect steering columns for rust and corrosion. Nissan is concerned that road salt used in these cold-weather states could cause the steering columns to rust through and possibly break off. In January, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration started investigating 35 reports of corrosion-related failure of the driver's-side front strut tower.

Infiniti Steer-by-Wire on the way (video)

Nissan has revealed that it plans to install an electronic steer-by-wire system in to its Infiniti models in 2013. As car makers seek to squeeze every last fraction of a mile out of their cars to hit economy and emissions targets, computer control of many of a car’s functions are controlled by computer, which means the official tests for economy and emissions can be guaranteed to produce predictable results. Now Nissan are to take electronic steering to its logical conclusion by eliminating any direct connection between the steering wheel and the front wheels (except in an emergency) with the first fly-by-wire steering system in a production car.