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

Ford, NHTSA investigate wheel studs on Fusion, Mercury Milan

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has upgraded an investigation into complaints about the 2010 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan sedans to an engineering analysis, one step closer to a recall. The investigation of 317,315 cars results from claims of fractured wheel studs, which could cause a wheel to come off. Ford's investigation is ongoing and no recall has been announced.

Audi TT Sportback concept – it’s a 5-door TT: Paris 2014

Audi TT Sportback concept – it’s a 5-door TT Audi has long been the master of the niche, so it’s no real surprise they’re looking for ways to ‘extend’ the Audi TT in to a series of new niche models. The latest take is this, the Audi TT Sportback concept, which has arrived at the Paris Motor Show as a big brother to the TT Coupe, with an extra pair of doors and an extra 290mm in length. Audi has also played with the look of the TT Sportback, with a new hexagonal grill, new headlights and a new bumper up front and the new tail lights and smaller back window give the TT Sportback an individual look (well, as individual as an Audi ever gets).

MIT researchers rethink electric-car batteries

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say a new battery design for electric vehicles could be a lightweight and inexpensive alternative. The goal for the team's three-year project, launched in September 2010, is to have a functioning prototype ready to be engineered as a replacement for existing electric-car batteries. At this point in the project, the prototype uses a “semi-solid flow” to separate the two functions of a battery--storing energy and discharging it when needed--into separate physical structures.