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

Project Car Hell, Straight Eight, Two Doors Edition: '47 Buick or '53 Packard?

Welcome back to another session in the Hell Garage, where you choose between a pair of projects that match coolness with torment. We've been through air-cooled German cars, cheap Italian cars and incomprehensible French cars in recent weeks, and now we're going to winch a couple of big American two-doors with straight-eight power out of the Lake of Fire. Before the V8 reigned supreme in luxury-car land, cars with long hoods and smooth-running inline-eight engines showed that you had made it, and we've found a pair of such cars that should be gorgeous when restored…after about a decade of work.

Mazda's rotary engine stalled, not forgotten

Development of the next-generation rotary engine from Mazda Motor Corp., first unveiled three years ago, is making slow progress despite missing emissions targets. A top Mazda powertrain executive said today that the 1.6-liter rotary engine, called the 16X, is about 30 percent more fuel-efficient than the current rotary engine used in the RX-8 sporty car. In fact, the 16X so far performs slightly better than Mazda's standard two-liter gasoline engine, said Mitsuo Hitomi, general manager of the Japanese carmaker's powertrain division.

Who's Where: Camilo Pardo leaves Ford

Camilo Pardo has ended his 24 year long career at Ford to pursue his numerous other creative endeavors. CDN caught up with the accomplished artist, sculptor, clothing and furniture designer at his annual Designer's Night bash in Detroit, where he told us how he was now "free to do anything", but would not divulge details as the announcement was not yet official. A native New Yorker, Pardo graduated from the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit and was granted the Industrial Design Society of America Merit Award in 1985.