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

A profile of Steve McQueen: Autoweek archives

For today's Autoweek archive feature, we are highlighting an article by Denise McCluggage from February 1981. McCluggage knew McQueen and recalls her encounters with the “King of Cool” through the years until his death. Before becoming a star, McQueen and McCluggage met over their mutual love of automobiles, more specifically the MG-TC, which both subsequently owned.

Akio Toyoda waves family flag, heir makes crisis personal challenge

The reclusive Akio Toyoda is taking the rare step of waving the family flag, as the scion to Toyota Motor Corp.’s founding dynasty tries to steer the world’s largest car company out of a spiraling safety crisis. In testimony prepared for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, President Toyoda pursues a rare personal tack on the emergency, saying “my name is on every car.” “As you well know, I am the grandson of the founder, and all the Toyota vehicles bear my name,” Toyoda says in prepared comments circulated ahead of Wednesday’s committee hearing in Washington. “For me, when the cars are damaged, it is as though I am as well.” The intimate reflection is a departure for Toyoda, who has spent most of his career sidestepping public discussion of his lineage.

Smokin' video: Ken Block carves up France's l'Autodrome in new Gymkhana run

Rally star and DC Shoes purveyor Ken Block has delivered another piece of wild driving with his latest Gymkhana video--this time carving up the high-banked track at France's Linas at l'Autodrome. If you can dream it, Block can do it--180-degree and 360-degree turns and figure eights in a custom-built, all-wheel-drive Ford Fiesta. There's even a shower of sparks at the end.