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

Rear-drive revelers: Spring Fest draws LX devotees to California love-in

Long before Eminem boosted the image of Detroit and the Chrysler 200, Fatchance was getting the West Coast party started for Chrysler's rear-drive LX cars. Fatchance is the Internet handle of John Fortuno, a man who--like many others we met at the Sixth Annual Spring Fest for LX owners--claims his car, a 2005 Chrysler 300C, changed his life. It introduced him to www.LXforums.com, a worldwide virtual car club that has more than 38,000 members dedicated to the Chrysler LX rear-drive platform used by the Chrysler 300 and the Dodge Charger, Challenger and Magnum.

VW planning to sell 2 versions of Polo compact in U.S.

Volkswagen plans to sell two versions of its Polo compact car in the United States: a sedan smaller than the current Jetta and a four-door hatchback roomier than the one shown this month at the Geneva auto show. Both versions would be designed especially for the United States, said Volkswagen Group of America CEO Stefan Jacoby. Sales could start in 2011, he said.

New 2013 Nissan Note gets more appealing

The new Nissan Note has turned in to a Ford Fiesta basher as Nissan turn the Note from a boring little MPV in to a convincing small hatch. We did think the Invitation would be watered down to produce a slightly titivated new Note for production, but much of the style has found its way through in to the new Note – which we first saw in the JDM Nissan Note last summer – and the Note now looks set to take on proper compact hatches like the Ford Fiesta. The nose of the new Note is now more convincing – with new headlights and grill – and the doors get a great big feature crease that looks like a giant smoothing iron has stamped its mark, although Nissan say it’s a ‘Squash Line’  whose ‘angles were inspired by the flight of a fast moving squash ball travelling around a court’.