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

Vauxhall / Opel Adam spied undisguised

The GM rival for the MINI and Fiat 500 – the Vauxhall and Opel Adam – has been caught undisguised on a photo shoot in Spain. The last news we had of what we thought was going to be the Opel Junior was GM’s announcement that it would actually be the Opel Adam – named after Opel’s founder – and, oddly, also the Vauxhall Adam. So far we’ve only seen the usually prototypes with swirly camouflage floating around Europe’s roads, but now we get the first shots of the Adam grabbed undisguised on a photoshoot in Spain.

BMW and Toyota plan engine-swap deal, reports say

Details have begun to emerge about a planned engine-swap deal between BMW and Toyota. Set to be made public at the Tokyo motor show this week, the cooperation is said to center on BMW supplying Toyota with four- and six-cylinder common-rail diesel engines for use in a wide range of models. In return, Toyota plans to provide BMW with technology used to combine combustion engines and electric motors in various hybrid applications.

1975 JC Whitney catalog: A bonanza of aftermarket Volkswagen goodies

Back before there was the Internet, or even big car-parts chain stores, there was the JC Whitney catalog. Printed on cheap, pulpy paper and featuring tens of thousands of tiny, hand-drawn illustrations, these thick books gave me many hours of enjoyment in the early 1980s, as I fantasized about how I'd modify my incredibly sketchy and hooptified '58 Beetle. Now I've picked up a 1975 JC Whitney catalog, and the Volkswagen section is even better than I remembered!