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

SoCal Speed shop wins AMBR award as hod-rodding returns to its roots

In a competition that "took hot-rodding back to its SoCal roots," the SoCal Speed Shop--the entity founded by original hot-rod hero Alex Xydias and now helmed by Pete Chapouris--finally won the AMBR. That's AMBR, as in, America's Most Beautiful Roadster, the most sought-after title in all of hot-rodding and the crowning glory of the Grand National Roadster Show. There is that competition at the Detroit Autorama that hands out the Ridler Award, but that is open to all manner of kustom kars.

Italy’s Supercar sales down 80% as Italy heads for 50 year car sales low

Sales of Supercars in Italy have dropped 80% in the last 5 years and car sales look set to drop to the lowest point since 1966. We all know the Eurozone is finally paying the price for stitching together powerhouse economies and basket case ones with the same blunt fiscal tools to control their economies. And even Italy – once a major Southern European economy – seems to be as big a basket case as Greece and Cyprus if you start to dig a bit.

Hennessey opens up the LS9-powered Camaro

Hennessey Performance is introducing a convertible version of its limited-edition 2011 HPE700 Camaro. The tuning company will produce just 24 copies of the 2011 HPE700 Camaro, but it hasn't revealed how many will be hardtops or convertibles. “We have already sold several of our 2011 HPE700s in hardtop form, increasing the potential for the convertible LS9 Camaro to become an even rarer option than before,” said John Hennessey, president of Hennessey Performance.