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

A super Cooper: We never tire of tires

Cooper Tires is the fourth-largest tire manufacturer in North America, with just more than 13 percent of the replacement-tire market in the United States. But nobody goes around chanting, "We're No. 4!" So Cooper is working on a bigger market share.

VW to intro Passat BlueMotion Concept at Detroit auto show

While performance heads are anxiously awaiting the North American debut of the hot-heat Mk VII Golf R at the Detroit auto show, Volkswagen's Passat BlueMotion Concept offers never-before technology in the Yank/Canuck family sedan segment: a four-pot motor with cylinder deactivation. Based on the EA211 1.4L turbo motor we sampled last year in the Euro-market Audi A3 sedan, the Passat BlueMotion Concept's engine is capable of shutting down the middle two cylinders during cruise, and features the Jetta Hybrid's gearbox, a twin-clutch unit capable of decoupling from the engine during off-throttle coasting. In the Passat's application, the 1.4 puts out 150 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque; VW suggests its highway fuel economy will stand at 42 mpg.

2011 BMW 1 Series Facelift

The BMW 1 Series Coupe & Convertible get a 2011 Facelift To be entirely accurate, the 2011 BMW 1 Series Facelift isn’t across the board – at least not yet. What we are getting – at the Detroit Motor Show next month – is a modest refresh to the cosmetics on the BMW 1 Series Coupe and BMW 1 Series Convertible plus a bit of an oily tweak. On the cosmetic front the 2011 1 Series gets some new light front and back – headlight tweaks, L-shaped tail lights and LEDs front and back – and a new splitter that BMW says creates an air curtain to improve CO2 and reduce drag.