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

GM throttles back on performance cars for 2010

It should not be a surprise, as General Motors scrambles to cut costs and cars sit unsold on dealers' lots, that the automaker is cutting high-performance versions of several vehicles for the 2010 model year. According to information from online ordering guides made available to GM dealers, the 2009 model year is the last for the Chevrolet Impala SS, the Pontiac G6 GXP and the Cadillac STS-V. Also, the SS trim in the Chevy Cobalt lineup will be limited to the coupe body style.

Fisker to face Congressional committee probe

Henrik Fisker's congressional testimony on Wednesday before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will paint the automaker he founded as a victim of "a confluence of events" and as a still-salvageable enterprise. Fisker, who resigned from Fisker Automotive on March 13, is among the automaker and government representatives scheduled to appear before Congress to answer questions regarding $193 million in Department of Energy loans made to the company. Fisker Automotive has appeared to be on the brink of filing for bankruptcy for the past few weeks.

Max Wolff to become Design Director at Lincoln

Ford's luxury nameplate, Lincoln, is set to welcome a new design director, the first dedicated design director for the brand. The role will be filled by former GM designer Max Wolff, who will head the design team in the new year.  Until Wolff's appointment, Peter Horbury and Moray Callum, Ford's Executive Director of Design, The Americas, oversaw Lincoln-Mercury designs – the two brands were paired before Ford decided to kill off Mercury earlier this year. While Gerry McGovern headed Lincoln-Mercury design for a brief period before becoming director of Advanced Design at Land Rover in 2004, Lincoln itself has never had a design director dedicated solely to the brand.  Wolff brings with him extensive global perspective and luxury design experience; his most recent role was with Cadillac, where he was head of exteriors.