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

Fiat demonstrates (for us prudes) how to sell cars, the Italian way

Italians are nothing if not imbued with salaciousness. At the Los Angeles Auto Show last week, Fiat leapt upon this fact with a seemingly undiscovered gusto, like a high-school kid who just had his first beer and is—as we speak—rushing to his friends to tell them all about it. You can watch the thing here in its entirety.

New MINI 5-door Hatch revealed – but will you fit through the back doors?

The 5-door MINI hatch arrives We’ve already had the more BMW-like new MINI arrive, and now, for the first time, we get a MINI 5-door hatch to try and extend the appeal of the MINI range to families. The 5-door MINI gets an extra 72mm in the wheelbase and a pair of doors at the back – which do look very tight for full-size people to use – and there’s also an extra 15mm of headroom, a bigger boot and seating for three in the back. In terms of design, there’s little to choose between the 5-door and the 3-door, but the new 5-door does look a bit like the off-spring of the new MINI and the Countryman; just a little dumpy.

U.S. examining Mini Cooper steering

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration is investigating Mini Coopers for unexpected loss of power steering. NHTSA has launched an investigation of 2004-model Coopers after receiving 54 consumer complaints and a confidential number of field reports, the administration stated on its Web site. The reports state that it is hard to control the vehicle when the power steering fails.