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

Oh, puh-leeze: Lighten up, people

Rarely do I come to the defense of a competitive member of the fourth estate, but the people at Car and Driver are getting the hooey knocked out of them by everyone from "professional media representatives" to the NASCAR faithful. What was CD's egregious sin? Its editors concocted an April Fool's joke with them good ol' boys Chrysler and General Motors as its punchline.

GT Academy winner to race at Monza

It's been a year since Jann Mardenborough entered the PlayStation GT Academy. On Saturday, he'll be on the track at Monza, going wheel to wheel with Valentino Rossi in the opening round of the Blancpain Endurance Series. Mardenborough won the GT Academy and drove in the 24 Hours of Dubai with fellow Academy winner Bryan Heitkotter in a race-prepped Nissan GT-R.

Zhong Boguang: China's first generation auto designer

Zhong Boguang is one of the first designers to emerge in a country that has seen its importance augment considerably in recent times. But well before China became the biggest market for motor vehicles in the world, Boguang was obsessed with the pursuit of his car design dreams. During his 34-year career, he was involved in and witnessed the development of the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), served as chief designer for China's first rotary engine cars and MPVs, been the design manager for the technology center in the first domestic automotive joint venture, and was the first person to launch strategic research in domestic automotive design.