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

Rethinking Scion: Quirky goes mainstream so brand adapts with a sporty coupe, hip music

If Toyota's Scion youth brand had stuck to its original premise, the third generation of the boxy xB would be rolling into showrooms today. As envisioned by Toyota, Scion products would be quirky, uber-cool and not around long enough to get stale. Its first-edition products were replaced after just four years.

VW Sharan (2010/2011) teased

Volkswagen is teasing the 2010 Sharan ahead of a Geneva reveal Update 2/3/2010: VW has now revealed the 2010 Sharan at the Geneva Motor Show. Well, we say teased, but it’s an odd sort of tease. Rather like the even more low-key tease Porsche has done for the new 2010 Porsche Cayenne.

Off the line: Fun cars and social responsibility Autoweek op-ed stands the test of time

It's been almost 21 years to the day that Autoweek printed Matt DeLorenzo's column “Off the Line: There's room for fast, fun cars in diet of social responsibility.” And in those two decades plus, not much has changed except the vehicles themselves. For example, sports cars like the Bugatti Veyron and Pagani Huayra have astronomically high performance and safety levels; similarly, sport-utility vehicles that haul entire families (and most of their earthly possessions) achieve fuel economy similar to that of 1970s midsize sedans. To read all of DeLorenzo's thoughts and his case for automobiles, click the links to download the article.