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

Google Car (self) drives into the future [w/video]

After years of speculation, Google finally announced its Google Car autonomous vehicle at the Recode Code Conference in Palos Verdes, CA yesterday. Google CEO Sergey Brin unveiled the company's new two-seat, driverless vehicle at the software conference, underlining the company's aim of drastically reducing road deaths and injuries caused by human error, particularly by distracted drivers. "We're now exploring what fully self-driving vehicles would look like by building some prototypes; they'll be designed to operate safely and autonomously without requiring human intervention," said Brin.

Alfa Romeo MiTo Quadrifoglio Verde at Frankfurt

Alfa will be bringing the 170bhp Alfa Romeo MiTo Quadrifoglio Verde to Frankfurt Alfa Romeo has revealed that they’ll be bringing the  MiTo Quadrifoglio Verde (MiTo four leaf clover) to the Frankfurt Motor Show next week, featuring a 170bhp Multiair engine as we reported back in June (goodness, we’re ahead of the game sometimes!). The ‘Quadrifoglio’ bit refers back to Alfa’s racing history, and was the emblem used on those cars and was most recently seen on special editions of the Alf GT and 147. But the biggest news, apart from the extras and the paint job, is the clever Multiair system that Alfa is busy introducing.

For new CAFE rules, automakers place high-stakes tech bets

Game-changing 2015 fuel economy rules are forcing vehicle development teams to make high-stakes bets on expensive technologies--bets that will separate the winners from the also-rans. Not only do federal rules target a 2015 fleet average of 35.5 mpg, up from the current 27.5 mpg for cars and 23.1 mpg for light trucks; they force automakers to bet on different technology packages for each vehicle segment. Companies that do best at mixing technologies while keeping down costs will have an advantage when buyers wince at higher stickers.