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

New Chevy pickup gets luxury trim

General Motors plans a luxury trim level for its next-generation Chevrolet Silverado pickup, its answer to the leather-swathed top offerings of its rivals. GM will name the model the High Country, according to dealers briefed on the plans during a national Chevy dealer meeting this month in Las Vegas. It's a response to the proliferation of high-end pickup models, such as Ford's F-150 King Ranch and Limited and Ram's Laramie Longhorn, which have sticker prices that can top $50,000.

Nissan to close Michigan design studio

In a cost-cutting move, Nissan is shutting its design studio at its research-and-development complex in suburban Detroit and moving the work to its main U.S. design studio in San Diego. The design studio in Farmington Hills, Mich., opened in 2005.

Design Services: Car Menu launched

Within almost every automotive design department throughout the world, their comes a time when a junior designer is dispatched to find a picture of some new model's tail lamp, the side view of a particular class leading competitor or examples of several new cars' colour and trim packages. Whilst looking at the competition is not necessarily a healthy way of finding ideas, it is often essential to demonstrate what is feasible, check in-house proposals are not too derivative, or show how advanced a design theme is relative to the same type of cars on the market. But even if the particular aspect of a car can be found, press packs and magazines typically show cars in the flattering light of an exotic location or being drifted around a corner on opposite lock; rarely are these images particularly useful.