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

AutoWeek office swag: Mazda rotary-engine keychain with realistic motion

When I got the keys to our long-term 2011 Mazda 5 last week, they came with a surprise--this aluminum-and-brass keychain in the shape of a rotary-engine housing, complete with moving rotor. The rotor doesn't just rattle around or spin in a circle. Thanks to a thumbwheel on the back of the housing, coupled with a timing gear and offset crank journal, the thing actually moves in an approximation of epitrochoidal motion just like a real Wankel.

Self-driving Tesla could hit roads within three years

Electric car manufacturer Tesla has said that self-driving cars could be a reality within the next three years, with the firm targeting a computer-guided version of its Model S saloon. Tesla chief executive officer Elon Musk said in an interview with the Financial Times that the autonomous driving technology would act like “an autopilot” that could be switched on and off like an aeroplane’s guidance system. On Bing: see pictures of autonomous cars Find out how much a used Tesla costs on Auto Trader However, while Musk claimed that 90% of distances driven today would be able to be completed autonomously in three years’ time, he also admitted that fully self-driving vehicles may be a “bridge too far” in the near future.

New Aston Martin Vanquish Configurator now live

The online configurator for the new (2013) Aston Martin Vanquish has now gone live on Aston Martin’s web site. The reveal of the new Aston Martin Vanquish has only just happened, but in 2012 that’s not good enough for a supercar – you need to have a configurator to play with. So if you’ve got a spare half an hour at work today (or even if you haven’t) you can go to Aston Martin’s website and play with the configurator for the new Vanquish to your heart’s content.