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

CES: Mercedes-Benz boss talks technology

Mercedes-Benz boss Dieter Zetsche characteristically seemed to enjoy his status as a car guy amid the computer nerds at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show. “I just came from Detroit yesterday, where some people consider consumer electronics to be a mere accessory to the car, and now I am here at CES where some people think the car is a mere accessory to the consumer electronics,” he said in a keynote speech on Tuesday at the event. Zetsche introduced mbrace2, the second generation of the Mercedes-Benz mbrace (pronounced “embrace”) system.

Renault Alpine A110-50

As we reported earlier this week, the Renault Alpine A110-50 prototype will be shown at the 2012 Monaco Grand Prix this weekend. Designed by Yann Jarsalle and Concept and Show Car Director Axel Breun the A110-50 effectively relaunches the historic Alpine brand despite being essentially a reworked version of the Renault-branded DeZir concept unveiled at the 2010 Paris Motor Show. As well as the addition of various Alpine design cues – the stylized yellow spot lamp pods, central hood flute and blue and orange colorway – the car is built on the platform of the RenaultSport Megane Trophy racecar and so therefore requires cooling provisions for its mid-mounted engine.

VW recalls 2014 vehicles for oil-cooler issue

Volkswagen notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently of an issue affecting the automatic transmission oil cooler in certain 2014 models. The recall has affected 26,452 vehicles overall, including the 2014 model year Passat, Jetta, Beetle and Beetle convertible, made between Feb. 1, 2014 and April 6, 2014.