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

AW Design Forum: Ralph Gilles talks technology - with style

Chrysler Group is known for its rough and tough trucks and menacing muscle cars, but its design boss said technology is going to be the game-changer for car designers going forward. Ralph Gilles, who is also CEO of the Dodge brand, said cars must be able to adapt to evolving technologies while remaining striking and pleasing to the eye. Smartphones, touch screens and colorful interfaces are all becoming common inside cars.

New Jaguar XFR-S burns up the Goodwood hillclimb (video)

The new Jaguar XFR-S – the most powerful XF to date – has just launched and we have video of the XFR-S on the Goodwood Hillclimb. With an even more aggressive look than the XFR, the XFR-S gets 542bhp and 502lb/ft of torque, enough to move Jaguar’s appealing super saloon to 62mph in just 4.4 seconds. Until now all we’ve had are the XFR-S photos Jaguar delivered (together with a dynamic video too), but with this week seeing Goodwood starting the push for this year’s Festival of Speed with a press day, we have the XFR-S out playing on the hillclimb, and Shmee 150 managed to capture Jaguar’s new cat playing.

Beijing motor show: China means (auto) business

By Guy Bird Motor Shows 22 April 2008 05:34 Only a fool wandering around this week's Beijing motor show would still dismiss China as some also-ran automotive market full of rip-off designs and outdated ‘new’ cars based on old Western designs. While all of those clichés were still in evidence at the Chinese auto show, the copycat mentality is much less obvious than even a year ago at last year's Shanghai show. And every western car exec CAR spoke to was in awe of the upward sales trajectory that means China is still the place to do business in 2008.Yes, there are still some odd automotive fish, usually small ‘three-box’ saloon in shape such as the Chinese market only Citroen C-Elysee and the VW Lavida (a Jetta/Bora Plus car with less style).