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

Auto Show: Los Angeles Auto Show gives preview into design competition

Ask automobile designers to come up with their interpretation of the 'Ultimate LA Machine' and you'll get a broad array of creative ideas. That's precisely what the LA Auto Show asked Los Angeles area automobile design studios to do - and the results are fascinating, entertaining and thought provoking. The LA Auto Show has provided a sneak peek into the competition by releasing one of the 13 entries - the Hyundai NTT, 'Entity', submitted by the Hyundai Kia America Design Center.

New York City Taxi of Tomorrow plans hit a roadblock

New York City administration's plan to replace current taxi cabs with the specially developed Nissan Taxi of Tomorrow has been stymied by a recent legal decision, the Wall Street Journal is reporting. The New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan (it's a bit confusing, but this is actually the on the level of the lowest state courts in New York state's court system) has issued a decision which determined the project to be an overreach of executive authority, siding with taxi magnate Evgeny Freidman and the Greater New York Taxi Association. The court stated that city's Taxi and Limousine Commission lacked the authority to compel cab companies to purchase the any particular vehicle -- in this case, the Nissan NV200 Taxi, which was slated to hit streets just a couple weeks from now on Oct.

Smart Forspeed concept signals new design direction

Smart will unveil a new concept at the forthcoming Geneva motor show that signals a new design direction, hints at future product and confirms parent company Daimler's renewed commitment to the brand. Car Design News was granted early access to the concept, baptized Forspeed, at a secret photography studio in Stuttgart last week and heard the head of advanced design, Steffen Kohl, explain how the two-seat, electric-powered vehicle prefaces design themes in both the next Fortwo and the revived Forfour, which will be launched in 2014. "The fullness of this concept's exterior surfaces is important and will be reflected in future production models," said Kohl, "Smart will still be short, spacey, agile, and with wheels at the corners of the car, but with an added sporty and emotional design and without losing all the brand's iconic elements like its ‘plastic fantastic' aspect and the safe and hi-tech modular tridion shell assembled with all these changeable body parts.