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

Who's Where: Lorenzo Ramaciotti appointed Chief of Design for Fiat Group

Starting June 1, 2007 Lorenzo Ramaciotti will become the new Group Chief of Design at Fiat Group Automobiles. Ramaciotti was snatched up by Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne and convinced to head the company's design direction, filling a newly created position that hasn't previously existed at Fiat. Lorenzo Ramaciotti, who retired from Pininfarina in June 2005 after working for the famed coachbuilder for 32 years, will be responsible for all the Fiat Group brands, including Alfa Romeo, Lancia and Maserati.

General Motors says Magna's Opel bid has obstacles, RHJ's is easier to accept

General Motors Co. says a bid for Opel from Magna International faces hurdles while a rival offer from Belgian investor RHJ International would be easier to accept. Writing on GM Europe's Web site, John Smith, GM's chief negotiator for the Opel sale, says Magna's bid "contained elements around intellectual property and our Russian operations that simply could not be implemented." He adds: "GM has partners in other parts of the world who have joint ownership of these assets ...

Historic first Porsche P1 electric vehicle goes on display

In what at first glance appears to be a blatant attempt to upset McLaren’s SEO – that’s Search Engine Optimisation – a Porsche P1 model has been announced. But this is no fearsome new 1,000hp rival to McLaren’s P1 hypercar (after all, Porsche already has one of those). Rather, the Porsche P1 actually dates from 1898, and produces just 3hp.