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

Woven in the Fabric of Enthusiasm

Editor's note: This article was first published in the April 30, 2000, issue of AutoWeek. Single chauffeur/single passenger two-door steel/aluminum/canvas/crocodile-embossed hide custom tourer 92 hp @ the shaft, 207 lb-ft @ 1,600 rpm 323.50-cid Chrysler L-head inline-eight Rear-wheel drive Four-speed, clutch-free semiautomatic 0-60 mph: 10 seconds EPA combined mpg: 8+ mpg Base price, None. Built for owner's use Or you could buy: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang II ($1,100,000+) It has been 79 years since Count Louis Zborowski, a Polish nobleman, created the glorious Chitty Chitty Bang Bangs of which only one survives.

Carlos Ghosn's automaker mantra: Go big or you'll go away

Size matters in auto company survival, Renault and Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn told an audience in Detroit on Tuesday. To cope with the escalating costs and scope of a global industry, successful automakers must complete a trifecta--be able to compete in every technology, every market and every segment, Ghosn said during a luncheon speech at the Detroit Economic Club “No 3 million-unit carmaker can make it,” Ghosn said, explaining why his Renault-Nissan alliance forged an alliance with Germany's Daimler AG. Competency in one or two of the three skills is not enough, and only very large companies can afford all three, he said.

Mind-powered ‘Emotiv’ car safety system tested

c Mind-controlled car (c) Getty-Ford ‘Neuroengineering’ company Emotiv has created a ‘mind-powered’ headset that can detect when a driver is distracted and automatically slow down the car, in an effort to improve safety. The Australian firm has already brought its most recent mind-controlled device to market – the Epoc headset. It’s this high-tech brain activity monitor that has now been adapted to determine how hard a driver is concentrating on the road ahead.