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

A look at Toyota future products

Toyota has slipped behind competitors in drivetrain technology and now must play catch-up against the likes of Ford, Hyundai and Mazda. Much of Toyota's lag stems from engineering resources being diverted by the unintended acceleration crisis and other quality miscues in the past two years. Now expect Toyota to focus more on turbocharging and direct injection, and it may even bring a couple of diesels to the United States as part of midcycle changes.

Nissan to offer zero-emissions e-NV200 commercial van in 2014

We all know that if there's one thing that delivery trucks like to do (UPS trucks excepted), it's to idle loudly in front of your home or office while filling the air with exhaust fumes as their drivers fill out paperwork on one of those metal pads. Scientific opinion around the world is split as to why delivery truck drivers do this, but one generally accepted explanation put forth by a group of Swiss scientists is that delivery truck drivers don't pay for their own fuel, and need to keep the radio on to listen to sports while filling out invoices. Well, Nissan is about to change all that, at least when it comes to eliminating the exhaust fumes generated by light commercial vehicles, with the introduction of the Nissan e-NV200 Zero Emission Van in the near future.

Will your next new car stop itself?

Last week in Park City, Utah, a group of us were discussing the chutzpah that some manufacturers have in charging hundreds of dollars for outboard mirrors that dip downward when the vehicle's placed in reverse. The consensus was, “Since the electric motors in the mirrors are already there, and the computers know the car's set to back up, it's only a line of code. A very expensive line of code.” The European Union seems to be thinking along the same lines.