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

Smart Forspeed concept signals new design direction

Smart will unveil a new concept at the forthcoming Geneva motor show that signals a new design direction, hints at future product and confirms parent company Daimler's renewed commitment to the brand. Car Design News was granted early access to the concept, baptized Forspeed, at a secret photography studio in Stuttgart last week and heard the head of advanced design, Steffen Kohl, explain how the two-seat, electric-powered vehicle prefaces design themes in both the next Fortwo and the revived Forfour, which will be launched in 2014. "The fullness of this concept's exterior surfaces is important and will be reflected in future production models," said Kohl, "Smart will still be short, spacey, agile, and with wheels at the corners of the car, but with an added sporty and emotional design and without losing all the brand's iconic elements like its ‘plastic fantastic' aspect and the safe and hi-tech modular tridion shell assembled with all these changeable body parts.

Ghosn says Infiniti quality must improve to build sales

The boss says quality is key to Infiniti's future. After years with Infiniti at the back of the premium pack, Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Infiniti's parent, Nissan Motor Co., has ordered his team to nail quality once and for all as part of a push to catapult Infiniti into the top three brands of the premium market. Buoyed by a favorable dollar-yen rate and an ambitious new top executive, Infiniti might have its best chance yet to crack those ranks.

Chevrolet Volt visits the wind tunnel

By Ben Whitworth First Official Pictures 13 December 2007 10:00 Back in January the Volt was easily the surprise of this year’s Detroit motor show. Chevrolet reckoned its radical electric four-seater was such a breakthrough that it would transform the way we drive when it arrived in showrooms by the end of the decade. And it’s just announced that the production model will be significantly more efficient at scything through the air: the Volt has been sent to GM’s wind tunnel where Chevrolet’s aerodynamicists has smoothed off some of its blunt surfaces to create a shape that is 30 percent more effective at cutting cleanly through the air at speed than the original concept.