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

Kubrick's Jaguar memories: XJ12s and more

Once upon a time there was a small boy, about seven years old, who had taken an interest in cars at a rather early stage, mainly thanks to his old man, who was (and, thankfully, still is) a car enthusiast and, back in those days, a staunch supporter of a certain Southern German marque. This naturally meant that the small boy would sometimes be a bit annoyed by his father's occasionally overbearing passion, but at the same time usually knit his eyebrows himself whenever he came across something sporting four wheels but no blue & white propeller (which, he believed, was the way things were supposed to be). So the foundations had been laid to turn this very young chap into a proper petrolhead one day, but his interest remained relatively casual and moderate until that one fateful evening.

Saab sold to Spyker

General Motors' Saab division won't end up on the postbankruptcy scrap heap with Pontiac and Saturn. Just as Saab's death appeared imminent, the Swedish automaker was scooped up on Tuesday by Dutch supercar-maker Spyker Cars in a $74 million deal that has been in works for months. The deal is expected to close on Feb.

Year-end discounts on 2012 models

Dealerships are working to get rid of the remaining 2012 models as the year comes to an end, so there are plenty of incentives on 2012 cars, pickups and SUVs. Here are our picks for the best deals: Chrysler 300 Chrysler is offering up to $5,500 cash back to buyers of select 2012 Chrysler 300 models. The most steeply discounted models include both the rear-wheel and all-wheel-drive versions of the 300C, 300C Luxury Series and 300S V8, as well as the 300S Mopar 12 rear-wheel-drive model.