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

Tesla asks NHTSA to investigate fires

In response to concerns following a recent accident which appeared to result from road debris damaging the underside of a battery compartment of a Tesla Model S, causing a fire in the engine compartment, the company has announced that it has requested that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conduct a full investigation into the fire incidents. In a blog post, Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote the following about the investigation: "While we think it is highly unlikely, if something is discovered that would result in a material improvement in occupant fire safety, we will immediately apply that change to new cars and offer it as a free retrofit to all existing cars. Given that the incidence of fires in the Model S is far lower than combustion cars and that there have been no resulting injuries, this did not at first seem like a good use of NHTSA's time compared to the hundreds of gasoline fire deaths per year that warrant their attention." Tesla has also released a software update to the cars which will maintain their standard ride height at highway speeds, preventing the air suspension from lowering the car an extra inch at highway speeds for greater aerodynamic efficiency.

Leno lines up electric Ford Focus for celebs to turn fast laps

Car collector Jay Leno's new prime-time TV show launches a new segment on Friday night, challenging visiting celebrities to set a fast lap time on a track outside the entertainer's studio. The car that Leno hands to his guests is an electric-powered Ford Focus--a harbinger of a battery-powered Focus that Ford plans to put on sale in 2011. Leno's electric Focus uses the more-modern European Focus as its base, not the well-aged U.S.

New design app aims to revolutionize design process

The Morpholio 2.0 app has been launched with a host of new tools aimed at revolutionizing the design process across all disciplines. Launched in July last year specifically for architects, this iteration is the result of collaboration between developers and designers in the automotive and fashion fields, among others. "Aside from making design production easier, we wanted to know if better tools could make it smarter by integrating the wisdom of crowds and capitalizing on the power of the touchscreen to capture feedback," says Anna Kenoff, Morpholio co-creator.