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

The no-show cars: a reader rant on mad concepts

Instigated by Harley Earl at General Motors in the late 30s with the quaintly named Buick Y-Job, show cars, or concept cars, were presented to an excited public eager for new things. As the world recovered from a depression and then a war, these vehicles pointed to a better future that many people believed in, including the people who produced them. And, although many of the concept cars of the 50s, with their Jetsons plexiglass roofs and notional nuclear powered engines seem ludicrous now, in their time they weren’t that cynical.

Barcelona’s Ferrari Land to open in 2016

Ferrari and PortAventura Entertainment -- a subsidiary of industrial solutions and capital company Investindustrial -- have inked a deal to build a new Ferrari Land amusement park inside the PortAventura resort near Barcelona, Spain. The theme park will cover 807,000 square feet, including attractions like Europe’s highest and fastest roller coaster, five-star accommodations, 250 hotel rooms and a driving simulator. The project involves an investment of 100 million euro ($139 million).

Ford outsells GM for second time since 1998

Ford Motor Co. outsold rival General Motors in the United States last month for the second time since 1998. Ford, aided by a 21 percent jump in truck sales amid rising gasoline prices, said today it sold 212,295 light vehicles last month, or 5,674 more than GM.