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

Battery breakthrough set to accelerate electric-car development

A team of scientists working at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are claiming a significant breakthrough in recharging times for lithium-ion batteries. According to findings published in the scientific journal Nature, MIT researchers Byoungwoo Kang and Gerbrand Ceder have unlocked the potential of lithium-ion batteries by patenting a unique process which is claimed to allow a typical laptop power pack to be fully recharged in less than a minute--an improvement in recharging performance of roughly 90 percent over existing lithium-ion batteries. Lithium-ion batteries generate electric current via the flow of lithium ions across an electrolyte, from an electrode to a cathode.

Domagoj Dukec on BMW's 2 Series [w/Video]

Following last week's reveal of the BMW 2 Series Coupé, the carmaker has released a video featuring head of exterior design Domagoj Dukec, in which he talks us through the car's design. The video, which also features BMW product manager Thomas Ebner, sees Dukec explaining how the three air intakes at the front – which also integrate the Air Curtain technology – set a marker for the car's "sportivity", before he explores the way in which new design features such as the grille and headlamps differ from those of its predecessor, the 1 Series. Moving on to to the side profile, he discusses what makes the silhouette typically BMW and what separates it from bigger coupés, while identifying the DLO as a special feature of the 2er.

Infiniti 'gunning for 700,000 sales' - Ghosn

Infiniti is planning to announce a new sales target of 10% global luxury market share - quadrupling sales to 700,000 a year - in a new mid-term statement due this summer. Renault Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn told CAR that Infiniti is on line to sell 165,000 cars worldwide in 2011 but said Nissan was investing heavily in its premium division to swell sales considerably. It's an ambitious goal: if successful, Infiniti would be encroaching on the 1m+ territory today dominated by the German luxury brands.