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

Intermot Motorcycle Show 2004

Motorcycle design is a term that conjures up many images to different people. To the majority North Americans, designing a motorcycle suggests a garage where several enthusiasts resembling the hit TV show Orange County Choppers assemble bikes based on the Harley Davidson model, with acres of chromed after market parts and hand lacquered custom paint jobs.To many others no thought is given at all to how the shapes of the bikes on the street came into being. The reality is that the major motorcycle manufacturers employ professional designers and serious technology the same way as in the car industry does, even if the final product is so different.

Corvette-powered Karmas coming in 2014

VL Automotive, a Detroit venture backed by former General Motors' vice chairman Bob Lutz, is moving ahead with plans to convert Fisker Karma from hybrid power to Corvette power. Lutz told Automotive News on Thursday that the company has bought 25 unsold Karmas and has settled a dispute with an Asian investor that prevented VL from accessing the codes that operate the Karma's infotainment system. "Without getting those codes, it was close to impossible to get a working car," Lutz said.

First Fiat 500s will have stick shifts

The 2012 Fiat 500 , heading to U.S. dealerships later than first expected, is enduring another hiccup: The first units arriving in dealerships in late February will have manual transmissions, the company said. Moreover, only about 20 percent of the 130 Fiat dealerships will be open when those first cars arrive, said Laura Soave, head of the Fiat brand in North America, at the Detroit auto show last week.