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

'American Nitro' is back!

"Seventies drag-race mayhem is back!" bills "American Nitro," a schlocky drive-in exploitation film whose only quote of praise, from a dog-eared period issue of "Car Craft," reads, simply, "SPECTACULAR CRASHES!" Director Bill Kimberlin says that he made "American Nitro" in 1979 as a response to Tom Wolfe's influential 1965 essay, "The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby." "I was just getting out of high school in a small town in Northern California when Wolfe's book came out," he said. "Nitro came about as my response to the car culture I was exposed to in the small valley town of Boonville, Calif. Instead of 'American Graffiti,' I made 'American Nitro.'" A fitting comparison, in fact, considering Kimberlin later worked for George Lucas at ILM, starting with" Return of the Jedi." Now the movie is being released on DVD for the first time -- beware of bootlegs, warns the website -- and digitally remastered, while retaining the explosive charm and goofy narration of the 1979 original.

McLaren slows MP4-12C production for fixes

British supercar maker McLaren has slowed production of the MP4-12C because of quality issues. The company says the problems are not safety- or performance-related. "There are no safety concerns for the delay," Tony Joseph, director of McLaren North America, told Autoweek.

Subaru XV production car at 2011 Frankfurt show

Subaru will show its new Qashqai rival, the XV, at the 2011 Frankfurt motor show. Not that you would have guessed it from this frustrating teaser sketch issued today. Parent firm Fuji Heavy Industries confirmed the Subaru crossover will be shown on 13 September at the IAA German show - five months after the concept waded in at the 2011 Shanghai show.