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

Mark Adams on the Past, Present and Future of Opel Design

Back in 1938, GM showed the world's first concept car: Harley Earl's Buick Y-Job. Twenty-six years later, GM's Opel division became the first mainstream carmaker to design and build a concept in Europe. That car was the Opel Experimental GT, designed in 1964 and launched at the Frankfurt motor show in 1965.

Escort Live: Crowd Sourcing for a Good Reason

It seems like yesterday we brought to your attention the technology Escort unveiled that coupled electronic counter-measures and social crowd sourcing in the war against speed traps and revenue generation. Yes, we speak of the Escort Live ticket protection app that connects your smart phone with others who then identify, mark and alert you to impending speed traps. Well, it wasn’t yesterday but little more than a year ago that Escort unveiled it at the 2011 SEMA show.

Video: GM's Frank Saucedo, Niki Smart and Gael Buzyn on the Elmiraj concept

GM director advanced design Frank Saucedo features in a new video explaining the design process behind the new Elmiraj concept. Saucedo, who oversaw the concept's development at GM's advanced design studio in North Hollywood, California, talks about how the Elmiraj – the second in a series of three concept cars that began with last's year Ciel – is a study of how they can progress and evolve the carmaker's ‘Art and Science' design philosophy. GM's interior design manager Gael Buzyn and exterior design manager Niki Smart also feature, with Smart explaining how the Elmiraj concept is focused on the notion of ‘the drive' and has been designed to reflect dynamism while the Ciel was about ‘the journey', represented by a luxurious interior.