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

NHTSA unveils new safety ratings; BMW and Hyundai first to get five stars

The 2011 BMW 5-series and the Hyundai Sonata were the first two cars to achieve five-star ratings under NHTSA's revised safety ratings announced on Tuesday. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will rate a total of 24 cars, 20 SUVs, nine pickups and two vans for the 2011 model year. The federal agency has significantly modified its rating process and will now grade side-pole testing and crash-prevention technologies such as lane-departure warning and electronic stability control.

Mini Beachcomber Concept at Detroit motor show 2010

This funky beach-biased concept car has just appeared at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show in January. Called the Mini Beachcomber Concept, this flight-of-fancy Moke-inspired show car gives us our first glimpse of how Mini's production-spec 4x4 crossover will look at launch - we'll see the real car at the Geneva motor show in March 2010 ahead of an autumn UK launch. This four-seater, four-wheel-drive machine has been designed without doors or a conventional roof, so that its occupants are not cut off from the outside world.

Concept Car of the Week: Saab Aero X

In January 2005 Bryan Nesbitt, then-executive director of GM Europe Design, charged the 15-strong Saab Advanced design team in Gothenburg, Sweden, to create the "ultimate vision of the brand". The design team – led by head of Advanced Design at Saab, Anthony Lo – worked on a number of sports car proposals, which were considered 'the jet fighters of the road.' The chosen proposal by Alex Daniel was for a large, front-engined sports car that would become one of the most universally acclaimed concept cars of recent times. Of course the Aero X's door arrangement – complete with huge, forward-hinged canopy – is its party trick, but even without the theatrics the car's proportions, surfacing and graphics are exceptional.