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

New Ford Kuga (2012) to debut at Los Angeles Motor Show

2012 Ford Kuga / Escape to debut at Los Angeles 2011 - based on the Vertrek Concept (above) Yes, strictly speaking the debut of the new Ford Kuga at the Los Angeles Motor Show in November is actually for the 2013 Ford Escape. But in the new ‘One World’ of Ford the new Escape – based on the Ford Vertrek Concept from this year’s Detroit Motor Show – will, with just a few changes, become Europe’s new Ford Kuga. What makes it even more certain that the Escape is much the same as the Kuga will be is news on the engines.

Infiniti EV put on hold to concentrate on volume sales

An Infiniti EV based on the Nissan LEAF (previewed by the LE Concept above) have been put on hold Nissan’s luxury arm, Infiniti, is on a global push to try and make inroads in to the dominance of Lexus in the luxury Japanese car arena, and has ambitious plans to be selling 500,000 cars a year by 2017. But Infiniti sold only a third of that total in 2012, so any chance of hitting the lofty target of 500k cars in the next five years means they must concentrate on volume cars, not niche cars like a Nissan LEAF based EV. That means the LEAF-based Infiniti LE EV Concept we saw at the New York Auto Show in 2012 will stay as a concept for the foreseeable future as Infiniti boss, Johan de Nysschen, seeks volume cars that will push the brand forward and bring proper sales numbers.

Saab fans gather outside GM headquarters

The 60-plus-year history of Saab may come to an inglorious end in the next few days if General Motors and Dutch supercar maker Spyker--or perhaps a dark-horse bidder--fail to reach an agreement to save the iconic Swedish maker of premium cars. But the potential death of yet another GM brand raised some voices of dissension--and passion--as a crowd of about 30 Saab enthusiasts braved temperatures in the 20s and snow flurries to show their support for Saab at a gathering near GM's global headquarters in downtown Detroit. The event was organized by the Ryan Emge, editor of a Saab.History.com, and was part car show, part rally and part family gathering.